Barely Breathing
by LoveReid
Summary: Danny goes to investigate a routine crime scene when he disappears. Now he's buried alive in a glass casket. With only a video feed connecting them to their missing teammate, Steve and the rest of Five-0 have twelve hours to find Danny and pay his ransom or he dies. But things are never that simple.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! So sorry I haven't written anything all summer. I discovered that I am not actually that good at coming up with my own story lines! Lol. Lucky for me though, I saw another awesome CSI episode and my sadistic side just had to H50ify it and who better to whump than my beloved Danny?

It's season five episodes 24 and 25 called Grave Danger in case anyone was wondering!

I don't own H50 or CSI but you probably already knew that.

Enjoy!

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Prologue

Danny pulled slowly into the abandoned parking lot and got out of his car.

"You have got to be kidding me," he said in annoyance. While it was nice to be able to actually drive his own Camaro for once, he still couldn't believe that Steve had sent him to help some rookie HPD cop search the back of an old building for god knows what at this time of night.

"What's going on around here?" Danny asked the cop as he approached him.  
"An anonymous caller reported body parts in this area," the officer answered. "Duke asked me to wait for backup before I searched the scene after I spotted some blood on the pavement, and apparently your apartment was closest."  
"Great," Danny muttered. He was definitely going to kill Steve when he saw him in the morning.  
"I'm Officer Mike Akuna, by the way," the man said, sticking out his hand.  
"Detective Danny Williams," he replied, offering his own in return.

Mike offered Danny a flashlight and they both started walking towards the back of the building.  
"Woah," Danny said, pointing at the ground. "Right there."  
Akuna looked where he was pointing and saw the blood trail. Danny pulled his gun and motioned for Akuna to do the same. They continued to follow the trail until they reached they reached entrails lying on the pavement in a pool of blood.

Danny made a sound of disgust and then heard Akuna inhale quickly.  
"Oh god," he whispered in horror. "Do you mind if I step away for a moment... Get some air?"  
Danny looked at the man and immediately noticed how fast he was turning green. "Sure," he replied, not wanting vomit all over his shoes on top of everything else . "I'll call the rest of my team."

He watched the officer run away with his hand over his mouth. Danny shook his head and chuckled. "Rookies," he said.  
He pulled out his phone and walked farther into the empty lot, noticing some cigarette butts and what appeared to be tire tracks leading away from the scene.

Danny pulled out his phone and began to dial Steve. He heard footsteps approaching quickly behind him. Assuming it was Akuna, he ignored them.

"Hey Danno," Steve said. "Did you find anything?"  
Before Danny could answer, something slammed into the side of his head and he was out cold before he even hit the pavement.

"Danny?!" Steve shouted in alarm as he heard the pained groan and the sound of a body hitting the floor. "Danny can you hear me?! What happened?! Answer me! Danny!"

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Entrails are intestines by the way. In case anyone didn't know. I know that's totally gross but it's important so I couldn't skip that part. Hope it was alright!

I'm going to try and update as soon as possible but I'm in school now so please be patient :)

Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think of the start!


	2. Chapter 2

On to chapter 2! Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites!

You guys rock!

Enjoy!

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"Think dammit!" Steve was shouting at Officer Akuna when Chin and Kono pulled into the lot that was now filled with police and frantic activity. "Did you see anyone else in the area? Anyone at all?"  
"I didn't see anything Sir!" The rookie cop said nervously. His head was down and his face was a mask of guilt. "I only took my eyes off of him for a couple of seconds!"  
"You're not supposed to take your eyes off of him EVER!" Steve yelled angrily.

Chin immediately went up to Steve and started pulling him backwards, away from the terrified officer. "Come on Steve," he said calmly. "We're going to find Danny but you need to stay calm. What happened?"  
"I sent him here to investigate an anonymous tip because his apartment was close by and Duke told me Akuna was out here alone," Steve reported. "He's been gone about twenty five minutes. I was on the phone with him when he was taken."

Steve led Kono and Chin over to the blood pool.  
"This is what they found when they got here," he said.  
Chin knelt down and studied the entrails. "We've got to get this over to Max," he said. "See what he can manage to get from it."

"Over here!" Kono called from a few steps ahead of them.  
Steve and Chin ran to her immediately. "What is it?" Steve asked.  
Kono pulled on a latex glove and showed them what she found. "Danny's phone and badge..." She said, looking up at them with a grim expression on her face.  
Steve took the badge and squeezed it tightly in his palm. He took a deep breath.  
"We've also got to give these to Fong," he said eventually. "See if he can get prints off them."

The three Five-0 members looked up as an HPD officer jumped out of a dumpster nearby. "The dumpsters clean," he reported. "No apparent blood or body parts."

Steve nodded at him before turning back to look at the entrails. Something was off about them...  
"Steve?" Kono asked, noticing the faraway look on his face. "What are you thinking?"  
"Take a look at this..." He replied, bending down. "This looks contrived to me."  
"What do you mean?" Chin asked.  
"The blood pool is too perfect..." Steve explained. "I've seen a lot of things like this... Body parts... Especially back in my SEAL days. There's no spatter here, but there should be."  
"So you're saying it looks like somebody placed that here?" Kono asked.  
Steve nodded. "Exactly."  
"But why?" She continued.  
"A lure," Chin replied. "To grab Danny. That's why they called it in here, so close to his apartment. They wanted him here. It's isolated and dark, the perfect place to snatch somebody. And whoever it was called it in late when there aren't as many officers patrolling around. This was definitely premeditated."

Steve turned around when he heard Max's voice.  
"Commander!" Max said as soon as he found them. "I got here as fast as I could. Any word on Detective Williams?"  
Steve shook his head. "Not yet Max. I need you to take these entrails back to your lab and get me something, anything I can use to help figure out who took Danny."  
"Right away Commander! You'll have my findings as soon as possible!" Max promised.  
"Thanks Max." He replied.

"Steve!" Duke called, approaching them. "I want you to know that you have the entire Honolulu Police Department force behind you. Every one of my men is focused on getting Danny back safely and as soon as possible."  
Steve nodded his thanks. "There's something I need your help with Duke."  
"What do you need me to do?" Duke asked.

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"Jesus what a hangover..." Danny muttered to himself as he slowly returned to consciousness. "I'm gonna kill McGarrett, always getting me drunk..."

A sudden bump sent Danny up in the air and he landed hard back down on the ground. His eyes flew open when he realized he wasn't in his bed or even on Steve's couch where he often woke up after a night of drinking with his partner. He was in the trunk of an SUV. That was definitely a new one...

A flash of pain went through his skull and he groaned, closing his eyes again. He tried to lift his arms only to realize that they were zip tied behind his back. A quick glance at his feet showed the same thing.

It took him a few seconds to focus with the pounding in his head, but he soon remembered going to investigate an anonymous tip in an abandoned parking lot with a rookie cop that couldn't seem keep his dinner down... He also remembered the entrails and calling Steve but his mind was drawing a blank and he couldn't remember anything past that.

Another bump in the road jarred him forcefully.  
"Never thought I'd say this but this guy drives worse than Steve..." he whispered to himself, closing his eyes again and trying to shake off the renewed pain in his head.

Danny tried to regain his focus. The seasoned cop side of him immediately took control. Who the hell took him? And what did they want? Maybe it was random... No one but Steve, Duke and that rookie cop whose name he couldn't remember knew he would be in that parking lot tonight. If it was even still tonight... He had no idea how long he was out of it for, but it was still dark and he doubted he'd been out all day so he figured he couldn't have been gone that long. He just wished he'd been able to see the face of the person who grabbed him. He had no clue what he was up against.

He could feel the panic building up inside of him and tried to push it back down. He couldn't lose focus if he wanted to get out of this alive. And he had called Steve. Steve would know that he was missing and he'd come after him. Danny knew his team wouldn't let him down. They never had before.

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Steve quickly jogged to the Camaro and opened the trunk. He pulled out the familiar rain jacket and smiled despite the helpless situation they now found themselves in.

Danny's mother had sent him this jacket during his first year in Hawaii because he was always complaining about the random and frequent rain showers on this "too hot and too wet godforsaken rock".

Steve, Chin and Kono, who had grown up with the rain showers, often teased Danny about his jacket. There were even fewer people in Hawaii that wore a rain jacket than wore a tie. And for a while, Danny had worn both. Steve praised himself of course, for getting rid of Danny's tie habit, but he never managed to get Danny to give up on his rain jacket no matter how hard he tried. Danny always insisted that is was one of his last connections to his mainlander roots.

Now Steve took the rain jacket and brought it over to the HPD's team of hounds. Chin and Kono couldn't help smiling as well when they saw what he was holding.

It had rained recently, so Steve knew that Danny's scent would be fresh on the jacket. The dogs sniffed it for a few seconds before taking off towards the back of the parking lot.  
"Good dogs!" Steve said. Holding the jacket like it was a last lifeline to his missing partner, He quickly went after the dogs with Chin, Kono, and several other HPD officers in tow.

At the end of the parking lot, the dogs turned left before stopping abruptly and sniffing the ground. They were crying and barking but made no further movements.  
"They lost the scent," Steve said in dismay.  
"This might be as far as it goes," Chin replied.  
"Look," Steve said, leaning down and pointing at the pavement. "It was raining recently. You can see the outline of some sort of large vehicle here."

Chin, Kono and the HPD officers surrounding him all nodded in agreement.  
"There were tire tracks found not far away from the entrails," Kono told him. "They've been photographed. Hopefully we can figure out what kind of car was used."  
Steve nodded. "Get me a measuring tape," he ordered the nearest officer. "I want these measurements. If we find the car we can trace it back to the owner and find the son of a bitch who took Danny."

Steve stood back up and looked around him, trying to see if there was anything they had missed. He wanted his partner back, and he wanted him now.

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Danny finally felt the car coming to a stop. He quickly rolled onto his back and put his feet out in front of him, hoping to surprise his captor and kick him when he opened the trunk.

However, Danny was the one taken by surprise when a gloved hand grabbed him from behind and shoved a white cloth over his mouth and nose.

He struggled and tried to get the sweet smelling cloth off his face but he knew it was no good. Black spots quickly flooded his vision as he was forced into unconsciousness once again.

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And there we have it! No idea where that part with the raincoat came from it just popped into my head and seemed so Danny to me so I had to put it in here!

Hope it's not moving too slow. I'm already working on the next chapter so you won't have to wait long.

Thanks for reading :) let me know what you guys think!


	3. Chapter 3

Hello again! Thanks for reviewing, following, favoriting of just reading! You're all awesome!

Here's chapter three!

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"What have you got Max?" Steve asked as soon as he walked into the ME's office. He had no patience to waste time with pleasantries. Every second counted in the race to get Danny back alive.

"I found something off with these entrails," Max replied. "There are a lot of intestines here but no appendix, which didn't make sense until I realized that these aren't human entrails at all."  
"Not human?" Steve asked in surprise. "Then what are they?"  
"Dog entrails," Max replied.  
"Well that's not going to help us at all..." Steve said angrily.  
"I'm sorry Commander. I'll keep looking and call you if I find anything else," Max replied.  
"It's not your fault Max... But thanks," Steve replied, already on his way out the door.  
"Please let me know if you find him," Max called after him. But Steve was already gone.

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"Kono!" Steve called out as he stormed back into HQ.  
"I pulled all of Danny's recent and active cases," Kono answered immediately, walking up to Steve with a stack of case files. "I've already been through most of them but I still have a few left."  
"I want to know anyone who had a grudge against him specifically," Steve told her. "Civilian complaints, death threats, anything. I also want you to call his old precinct in New Jersey and ask them to send any files of guys Danny put away that might have been released recently."  
"You got it," Kono replied. "How'd it go with Max?"  
"The entrails weren't human," Steve told her.  
"Not human?" She asked, clearly confused. "Then what the hell were they?"  
"Dog entrails." Steve replied.  
"Well that is seriously disgusting. But it does support the theory that the crime scene was fabricated just to grab Danny," Kono said.  
"Exactly. Unfortunately it gives us nothing in terms of finding the bastard who did the grabbing," Steve said. "Let me know if you find anything, I'll be with Chin."  
"On it," Kono replied, heading back into her office.  
"Thanks Kono," Steve called after her.

He walked over to the computer table where Chin had a live video conference with Fong open.  
"Charlie, anything on those tire tracks and measurements?" He asked.  
"Using the truck and wheel base measurements, plus or minus five percent to account for rain shadowing and/or drying effects, I came up with a list of seven different vehicles." Fong replied.  
"What are they?" Chin asked.  
"A Ford Explorer, Chevy Suburban, Ford Expedition, Ford F150, Chevy Avalanche, Chevy Tahoe and a GMC Denali XL." Fong listed.  
"Aright thanks Charlie," Steve replied. "Let me know if you get prints off of Danny's phone or badge."  
"Of course," he replied, shutting down the connection.

"Alright Chin," Steve said. "Let's see the traffic cameras within a three block radius of the lot where Danny was taken from around the time he was taken."  
Chin's fingers immediately started flying over the screen until the cameras were up and running.  
"We're looking for a big truck," Steve said, focusing intently on the screen.  
"How about that one?" Chin asked, freezing one of the screens. It looks like a Suburban. That's one of the cars on Fong's list."  
"Someone's in a rush to be somewhere..." Steve said, his eyes glued to the car. "Wait a second! That one, the big ford. Follow it."  
"Okay I got it..." Chin replied.  
"It's an expedition truck... It left the area around 11:15," Steve said.  
"Definitely in hurry. Even more than the Suburban," Chin replied.  
"Stay on him," Steve said. "Let's see where he goes."

Steve and Chin continued to watch the truck until it drove off the grid.  
"Damn!" Steve said, slamming his hand down on the table. "We lost it."  
"At least we have a general direction," Chin said, trying to keep Steve as calm as possible.  
"Yeah that's just great!" Steve muttered sarcastically. "Danny could be anywhere from Puholo Street to Kalakaua Avenue to the Wanahine Falls! And that's assuming he was in that truck in the first place!"

Steve immediately pulled out his phone and dialed the number he'd called for help so many times before.  
"Well hello there sailor," Catherine answered. "We calling in a favor? I'm free for lunch today if you'd like to make it up to me."  
"Cath..." Steve began.

She must have immediately realized that something was wrong when she heard his voice because all the humor left her tone suddenly.  
"Steve what happened? What's wrong?" She asked in concern.  
"It's Danny..." Steve said.  
"Oh no Steve..." She replied. "Is he okay?"  
"Somebody took him Cath, and I really need your help," Steve told her.  
"Anything Steve you know that," she replied.  
"We think that the guy who took him was driving a white Ford Expedition with the license plate DVT 268. We're going to look into the owner now but can you see if you can locate it?"  
"I'm on it Steve," Cath replied. "I'll get back to you."  
"Thanks," Steve said before hanging up the phone.

"If its out there, she'll find it," Steve told Chin.  
"Steve..." Chin began, but was abruptly cut off as Kono walked up to them.

"What do we have on possible suspects?" Steve asked immediately, ignoring the concerned look Chin was giving him.  
"So far none of Danny's active or recent cases stands out..." Kono said dejectedly. "His old Captain in New Jersey is sending me over some more files as we speak. Everyone over there is worried about him..."  
"Well everyone over here is worried about him too," Steve muttered.

"What if this was just a random act?" Kono suggested. "It could be possible... Whoever staged the crime scene couldn't be absolutely sure that it would be Danny who responded to the call."  
"What? You think it being so close to Danny's apartment is just a coincidence?" Chin asked. "Bad luck?"  
Steve shook his head. "I don't believe in coincidences," he said. "Or luck. This was planned, I know it."

The three Five-0 members all looked up when the door to HQ opened and Duke walked in with two officers dragging a struggling man behind him.  
"Get your freekin hands off me man!" The detained guy was yelling.

"What the hell is going on?" Steve asked, walking over with Chin and Kono in tow.  
Duke handed Steve an envelope.  
"I told you you gotta sign for that!" The man continued to yell.  
"We were on our way up here to see if you guys needed help with anything, when we see this guy coming with a package." Duke explained. "There's no return address."  
"You're violating my rights! I want a lawyer!" The messenger demanded.  
"Shut up!" Steve snapped at him.  
"The way this idiot was pawing the envelope, I figured I better get it away from him before he wiped off anything we can trace." Duke said.  
"What do you mean something we can trace?" Chin asked in confusion.  
"It's about Danny," Duke replied.

Steve immediately grabbed the envelope and looked at it.  
"It's addressed to us," he told Chin and Kono. "And it says 'Williams' on it."

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Danny started to come to again as an annoyingly bright light was flashed in his face. He immediately noticed the taste of pennies in his mouth and he knew that he'd been chloroformed.

He sluggishly blinked his eyes open when he felt the zip ties at his wrists and ankles being cut away. The bright light was shut off and replaced by a dull glow. He tried to lift his head to see where he was but it felt like it weighed a thousand pounds so he dropped it back down and closed his eyes.

He felt a few things thrown on top of him, and then felt hands placing something down beside him. A heavy thud had him opening his eyes again to see what was going on.

Terror flooded Danny immediately and his blood turned to ice when he realized what was happening. He looked around frantically and saw that he was encased in a glass box, illuminated only by a few glow sticks that had been thrown in there with him. The pain in his head immediately forgotten, he started beating his fists against the glass wall above him and screamed.

"Let me out!" He shouted desperately. "Please don't! Don't do this! Don't leave me in here!"  
Danny caught a glimpse of the man who was throwing dirt on top of his glass casket and was momentarily frozen with shock. It couldn't be him... That wasn't possible...

As more dirt was added to pile on the glass coffin and the moonlight was blocked from his view, Danny continued to scream his throat raw and push and kick at the glass until he couldn't feel anything anymore.

He couldn't remember a time when he'd been filled with such panic and fear in his life.

He'd just been buried alive.

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DUN DUN DUN!

Sorry the chapters are on the short side but I always choose beforehand where I want to end the chapter and this seemed like a good place!

Thanks for reading :)  
Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

A big thanks to everyone who's reviewing, following, favoriting, just reading, whatever!

Hope you're enjoying :) here's the next chapter for you!

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"Open it!" Kono shouted impatiently when Steve continued to just stare at the package in his hand, afraid of what he'd find.

He carefully opened the envelope and dumped the contents into his hand.  
"A USB." He said aloud.  
"We need to have it checked for prints," Chin said.  
"Wait! Play it first!" Kono replied. "It could help lead us to Danny!"  
"She's right," Steve said.

"We'll take him down to your interrogation room," Duke said.  
"Thanks Duke," Steve replied, handing him the envelope the messenger had delivered. "Can you bring that to Fong when you finish with him?"  
"You got it Steve," he said.

Steve, Chin and Kono walked back over to the computer table. Steve slid the USB into the drive and their eyes flew to the screen as it began to play.

FIVE MILLION DOLLARS IN 12 HOURS OR THE DETECTIVE DIES  
DROP-OFF DETAILS TO FOLLOW  
AND NOW FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE...  
YOU CAN ONLY WATCH

No one made a sound as the words filled the screen. When nothing followed, Kono finally spoke up.  
"Look at that," she said. "You need to click the 'WATCH'."

Steve leaned forward and hit the button.  
"Oh god!" He whispered, as an image of Danny illuminated by a bright light and trapped in a glass coffin came in to view. "No... No no no no no"  
Kono gasped as her hands flew to her mouth. Tears immediately filled her eyes.  
"Son of a bitch..." Chin muttered angrily.

They all watched in absolute horror as a clearly panicking Danny lifted his head and squinted at the bright light by his feet. He immediately started screaming and desperately banging his hands, feet and even his head a few times at the glass that was all around him.

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Whatever calm Danny had been able to build for himself since waking up in this glass hell faded away as a blindingly bright light suddenly turned on by his feet.  
He thrust his hands back against the glass and pushed with all he was worth, but it still didn't do him any good.

Completely desperate, He kept pushing at the glass, and eventually rolled himself onto his stomach to try pushing it the other way. It didn't even budge.

Danny clenched his teeth and shoved his head from side to side, wishing that at any moment he would wake up from this nightmare and be safe in his own bed.

"Somebody get me out of here!" He shouted as loud as he could. His screams and cries for help only echoed in what he was now sure would be his final resting place.

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"I don't think he can see us," Kono said with a shaking voice, finally breaking the miserable silence as they all watched the suffering of their teammate and close friend.  
"How can we even be sure it's a live feed?" Chin asked.  
"I think it is..." Kono replied. "Look at the timer on the bottom of the screen. It's running down from 12 hours."

Steve ignored them and continued staring at his partner. Danny had eventually calmed down, but it didn't make watching him any easier. Buried alive... Even in his SEAL days he hadn't seen anything that terrible and just plain sick. He couldn't even imagine what Danny was going through right now, or what was going on in his partner's head. Steve could see the sweat already beading Danny's face. He'd been down there for a while... How much air did he have in that box...?

That was his best friend in there and Steve swore to himself he'd do everything to get him back. And make the sick son of a bitch that did this to him pay.

"Steve?" Kono whispered softly.  
Steve cleared his throat and shook his head. They had twelve hours to find Danny and he had to pull it together. "That box," he said finally, never taking his eyes off the screen. "It's small. And in his panic, Danny's breathing would be fast. I would say there's only about two hours of air left in there based on how long he's been gone."  
"But if they plan on keeping him alive for twelve hours that must mean he's getting more air from somewhere," Chin pointed out.  
"Look at that little circle to the left of his head," Kono said. "Could be an air vent."

They all jumped when the screen went dead all of the sudden.  
Steve ran forward. "What happened?!" He said in panic. As irrational as it may be, it felt like losing Danny all over again. That video was all he had left that connected him to his missing partner.  
"We lost the feed," Chin said, darting towards the table. He quickly pressed the 'WATCH' button again.

Danny popped back up on the screen. They all watched as he immediately raised his head and flinched at the light by his feet.  
"The light is connected to the video feed," Chin said.  
"And the feed is definitely live," Steve replied.  
"We should keep the light on for him," Kono said sadly. "I don't want him to be trapped in there in the dark."  
"I don't want him to be trapped in there at all," Steve growled. "I'm going to talk to that messenger. I want one of you watching this screen at all times. Don't leave him even for a second. Come and get me if something happens."

Chin and Kono nodded before watching as Steve stormed out of room and headed towards interrogation.  
Kono shook her head as tears filled her eyes once again.  
Chin put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. "Hey hey," he said soothingly. "We're gonna find him Cuz."

"Look at him Chin... He's completely alone down there. I know he's Danny and he's strong but he still must be so scared." Kono replied.  
"Which is why we're going to get to work and find him long before those 12 hours are up," Chin told her. "You hear me?"  
Kono nodded. "I'm going to check if his old captain sent over any more files," she said with one last look at Danny. "I should also call Rachel and Danny's parents. I know Steve was holding off but I think it's time."  
"Yeah you're probably right... Go. I got this," Chin assured her before turning back to the screen.  
"Don't worry brah," he whispered. "We'll find you."

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Steve slammed the door to interrogation open as hard as he could. He wanted this guy scared from the second he walked into the room. Steve was far past playing games now.

As soon as he entered the room he got right in the messengers face.  
"I'm gonna get right to it because time is of the essence here," Steve practically growled at the man in front of him. "Where did you get that package?"  
"Listen man..." He began.  
Steve learned forward and grasped the edges of the metal chair, leaning it back dangerously. "Do not test me," he said in a dangerously low voice.  
"Alright! Jesus I said alright man chill!" The man cried. "I got called to a pick up on Pahali circle. When I got there, I didn't talk to an actual person. I just found an abandoned package with some cash taped to it."  
"How much cash?" Steve asked.  
"It was a hundred bucks," he replied.  
"I need it," Steve told him. "Whoever left it may have also left his prints on it."  
"Now wait a second dude..." He argued.  
"Hey, you listen to me," Steve said. "Either you give me that money or I have you arrested as an accessory to the kidnapping of a cop and then I take it. What's it gonna be?"  
"This is bull shit..." He muttered. "Fine it's in the wallet you took from me when I got shoved in here."  
"Good," Steve replied. For the first time since Danny went missing he felt like they were finally making some progress.

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Using the light at his feet as a guide Danny started to feel around the coffin. On his right side he found his own gun. He picked it up and checked the magazine for bullets. It was full. He put it back down beside him and reached to his other side, finding an ancient cassette tape player.

He picked it up and pushed the play button.  
"Hello Detective Williams," a voice he recognized clearly spoke. "Are you wondering why you're here? I'm sure you know by now Detective. A few words of advice if I may, breathe quick, breathe slow, put your gun in your mouth and pull the trigger, do whatever you'd like. Because you are going to die in here Detective. And there's nothing Steve, or the rest of your beloved Five-0 team can do about it. This I promise you. Happy trails Detective Williams."

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Hope you enjoyed :)

Please drop me and review and let me know how I'm doing! Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey! Sorry I couldn't update until now it was Yom Kippur this weekend but I'm back! I'm gonna try to update again soon :)

Thanks for all the reviews and favorites and follows guys I really appreciate them all :)

Enjoy!

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Steve stared at Danny. To the untrained eye, it looked like he was sleeping but Steve knew him better than that. He had his arm thrown over eyes to block out the light but Steve could see his chest rising and falling way too fast for him to be asleep.

His eyes went down the clock ticking below the video feed. Four hours. They had four hours left to find Danny. And they had nothing. There were no prints on the package. Catherine hadn't been able to locate the car and it had been reported stolen the day before. They had of course checked out the owners but it belonged to a squeaky clean elderly couple. They also got nothing from Danny's phone or badge, which was now resting in Steve's pocket. He would hold onto it until they got the owner back. They'd been up all night, running on coffee and desperation but they were still no closer to finding Danny.

His parents and Rachel called every hour for updates and he had already spoken to a crying Grace more times than he'd like to remember. It was safe to say that Steve McGarrett never felt like a bigger failure in his life. The one time his partner needed him the most and Steve had absolutely no idea where he was.

He looked to Chin and Kono, who were standing diligently over the table and doing whatever they could to trace the video feed.  
"It's been hours," Steve said. "Why can't we trace the damn thing?"  
"It's difficult," Chin explained. Steve could tell by his voice that he felt every inch the failure that Steve did. "The feed shuts down every two minutes after we hit the 'watch' button, making it almost impossible to trace."  
"If anyone can do it, you two can," Steve said.

They were interrupted by the shrill ringing of his phone. Steve looked at the caller ID.  
"It's the governor," he said. "I called him about getting together the money for Danny's ransom a few hours ago. Be right back."  
Chin and Kono nodded before turning back to the computer table.

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Steve walked into his office and answered the phone.  
"Governor," he said.  
" Commander, have you located Detective Williams?" Governor Denning asked immediately.  
"Not yet Sir but we're working on it," Steve replied. "We have four hours left to get his ransom money together."  
"The state of Hawaii is not going to finance a ransom Commander McGarrett." Denning replied.  
"You're... What?!" Steve demanded angrily. "You're not going to pay to get back one of the members of your own task force?!"  
"It's against policy to negotiate with terrorists Commander," he replied. "You should understand that. There are no exceptions."  
"You're just going to let him die?!" Steve shouted. "You're going to leave him alone to suffocate in a glass box buried underground somewhere?! What about his daughter? Leave no man behind Governor! You should understand that!"  
"I understand that he's your partner and this is a stressful situation for you but that doesn't mean you can talk down to me Commander," Denning replied angrily. "I'll let it go this once but do not do it again. Your team is the best there is McGarrett. I'm trusting you to get him back alive. I'll let you get back to it."

Steve slammed his phone down and threw himself into the chair. He put his head in his hands and ran his fingers through his hair angrily. None of his team had that kind of cash and he knew Danny's parents couldn't afford it either. He had hoped that Denning would give them the money they needed but he should've known the former soldier would never relent.

Steve immediately thought back the time when they had stolen ten million dollars to save Chin but he doubted they could pull something like that off again. Where would they get it from this time? And Denning wasn't like Governor Jameson. He wouldn't turn a blind eye as she had. If he couldn't find Danny before the last four hours were up, his friend was as good as dead. And he couldn't let that happen. Steve couldn't fail him like that.

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Chin and Kono were so focused on the screen that they didn't even hear the sound of high heels against the tile floor coming towards them.  
The sudden gasp was what finally broke the cousins out of their stupor.

Their heads shot up at the same time and both were surprised to see Rachel standing there, staring at the screen with her hands over her mouth and a look of horror on her face.

"Rachel!" Kono exclaimed.  
"Oh god Danny... What the hell is going on?" Rachel demanded.

They all turned when the door to Steve's office opened.  
"Listen guys-" he started to say before he looked up and saw what was going. He abruptly cut off. Rachel knew that Danny was missing, but she hadn't known the circumstances... Until now. Judging by the look on her face Steve knew he was in for it.

"Where the hell is he?!" Rachel demanded angrily with tears in her eyes. "What is this?"  
She looked back at the screen and the tears started to fall. Danny was still lying there with his arm over his eyes. Every once in a while he would shift and shake his head as if trying to get more comfortable.

"We don't know where he is Rachel," Steve told her. "Somebody took him and they... They buried him."  
"Oh god Steve..." Rachel cried. "Can't you do something? Can't you locate him?"  
"We're trying," Kono spoke up. "So far we haven't been able to get a location, but we are working on narrowing it down."

"What are you doing here Rachel?" Steve asked. "Is Grace okay? Did something happen?"  
Rachel wiped at her eyes quickly. "She's frantic," she replied. "We can't get her to eat or sleep or go to school. She keeps demanding to come here but I didn't want to bring her so I promised her I'd come instead. Why didn't you tell me about this Commander?"  
"I didn't want you or Grace to know... And I know Danny wouldn't have wanted that either," Steve replied honestly.

Rachel nodded. She looked to the screen again. "Oh god Daniel what have you gotten yourself into...?" She whispered.  
"I promise you we're going to find him Rachel," Steve said adamantly. "We're going to bring him home to Gracie."  
"Do you know who's responsible?" She asked.  
"Not yet," Chin replied. "We're working on that too."

Rachel pointed to the timer. "What's that?" She asked.  
"They gave us twelve hours to get five million dollars together to get Danny back." Steve replied. "That's how much time we've got left."  
"Is Denning giving us the money?" Kono asked.  
"No," Steve said angrily. "We don't negotiate with terrorists was his reason. Sound familiar?"  
"But we need to get him back!" Kono exclaimed. "What do we do now?"  
"I'll pay it," Rachel said immediately.

The three Five-0 members turned to her in shock.  
"Rachel, you don't have to do that," Steve said, but it was easy to see by the look in his eyes that he hoped she was willing to do it anyway.  
"I am not going to let him die in that glass box Commander!" Rachel snapped angrily. "We may not be married anymore and god knows we have our problems but he is the father of my child and I will always care about him. So yes Steve, I do have to do that."

Steve looked at her and smiled for the first time in hours. "I was hoping you would say that," he admitted.  
Rachel couldn't help but give a small smile back. "I'll call Stan now and have everything put together. It'll be close but I think they'll be able to do it in time."  
"You think he'll agree?" Chin asked.  
"He's my husband Chin, what's his is mine." Rachel replied. "Besides, who said I was giving him a choice?"

***********************************************lin ebreak*******************************

Steve, Rachel, Kono , Chin and Duke were staring anxiously at the screen as the last ten seconds counted down.

When the timer finally hit zero, the video feed of Danny disappeared and words filled the screen immediately.

3971 CARNIEA LANE - BOULDER HIGHWAY  
BE THERE IN TWENTY MINUTES OR DON'T BOTHER COMING  
AND COMMANDER, DON'T BRING ANYBODY WITH YOU OR YOUR PARTNER DIES

The screen went blank.

Steve immediately grabbed the two bags of money and started towards the door.  
"I don't like this Steve," Duke said. "You may need back up."  
"You heard him Duke," Steve replied impatiently. "I'm not willing to risk Danny's life here. I'm going alone."  
"Be careful boss!" Kono said.  
"Call when you have a location, the entire Department will be on standby," Duke told him.  
"Go get him back brah!" Chin ordered.

Steve was almost to the door when he heard footsteps behind him and felt a hand grab his arm. He turned around and came face to face with Rachel.  
"Please bring him back alive Steve," she begged. "Grace needs him."  
"I promised I'd bring him home and I intend to keep it Rachel," Steve said.

Rachel nodded and let go of his arm, watching with tears in her eyes as he went off to find her ex-husband. She had faith in Steve. It was easy to see how much he cared about Danny and she was grateful that it was Steve who was going to bring him home to their daughter. Rachel prayed that he would get there in time and that Danny would make it out of this alive. She couldn't bare the thought of him dying, never mind what it would do to Grace. They were so close she knew it would kill her daughter to lose her Danno.

Rachel had to believe that Steve would bring Danny back alive, but she just couldn't get rid of this bad feeling she had that everything was about to go horribly wrong.

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Okay so soon we have the big reveal! I'm working on the chapter now so hopefully I'll have it finished and up by tomorrow night. I'm really excited about the next one :)

Hope you enjoyed!

Drop me a review and let me know what you think :) thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the reviews or for just stopping by :) you all rock!

I'm so unbelievably nervous about this chapter! I hope it makes sense to all of you! Enjoy :)

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Steve reached the old abandoned house in record time. He climbed out of the Camaro and pulled the bags of cash from the back seat. He sighed and started walking towards the house. It was time to get Danny back.

He climbed the creaking stairs and slid open the door before stepping inside warily. It was more like a barn on the inside than a house, he realized. The floor was all sand and dirt and the inside of the room was mostly empty. He immediately spotted the ford explorer in the corner. Steve knew it had to be well hidden if not even Catherine had been able to find it.

He pulled out his flashlight and shone it around the empty room.  
"Commander McGarrett," he called out. "Five-0."  
"Well don't just stand there Commander, come on in," he heard a voice say from behind the thin wall at the end of the empty room.  
Steve knew he recognized that voice from somewhere but he couldn't figure out just where he had heard it before.

He started forward and made his way towards the back of the barn. He noticed a dead dog and a few bowls of food on the ground nearby. Shaking his head in disgust, he slowly entered the next room.

A man was sitting at a desk at the back of the room looking at a computer screen. It was too dark and too far away for Steve to make out his face even with his flashlight.

"It's pretty quiet out there," the man said. "I'm assuming you came alone then commander good for you! I knew you'd come alone if I threatened your precious Detective."  
"I've got your money," Steve said.  
The man stood up and took a few steps away from the desk. "Put it down," he ordered. "Then kick it over."

Steve did as he man said and threw the bags over to him.  
The man started walking over and as soon as he got to the middle of the room, his face was finally visible. And it was a face Steve knew all too well.

He gasped in shock. "Sean Harris... But that's not possible... How.."  
Harris laughed. "You didn't really think a sanitarium could keep me held captive, did you Commander?" He asked. "It was almost too easy to escape from those useless orderlies and guards when the time was finally right.  
"Where's Danny?" Steve asked angrily, already planning on prosecuting everyone in that damn sanitarium once he had his partner back safe.

Harris ignored him and eyed the money. "You're telling me that there's five million dollars in here?" He asked.  
"Yes," Steve replied.  
"Along with some booby traps I assume? A tracker perhaps?" Harris demanded.  
"Normally you'd be right but not this time." Steve said. "We just want Danny back. That's it. No trace."

Steve of course planned on ripping Harris apart with his bare hands as soon as he had Danny's location, but he thought it'd be better to keep that to himself for now.

Harris knelt down and opened the bag. He pulled out a stack of money and turned it over in his hands.  
He chuckled. "Well this looks real." He said.  
"It is real," Steve replied.  
"I used to have money," Harris said. "I used to have a lot of money. And then Williams' pig brother stole it from me. I lost my parents because of that thief too. And then we had nothing. Me and my sister. But we always had each other. Before your partner Detective Williams took her from me too. And I decided that since I never got my revenge on Matthew Williams, I'd come back here to the wonderful island of Hawaii and finish what I started with Detective Williams two years ago. He's going to get what he deserves for taking her from me. My beautiful sister..."  
His voice choked on the last word.  
"Danny didn't take anything from you," Steve said angrily. "Where is he Harris?"

Harris ignored him again. "You know.." He said. "I was under the impression that it was against department policy to negotiate with terrorists"  
"Are you a terrorist Sean?" Steve asked.  
"That depends," he replied. "Are you terrified Commander? Terrified that you'll lose Danny boy?"  
"I'm not here to talk to you Harris! If you want a social visit we can arrange but right now all I want to hear from you is Danny's location you son of a bitch!" Steve said angrily. "Where is he buried?!"

"How do you feel when you see him in that coffin Commander?" Harris asked in a mocking tone. "Does your soul die every time you hit that button? And how does it feel knowing that there is nothing you can do about it? Do you feel helpless? Do you feel useless? How does it feel knowing that all you can do is sit their and watch as your partner suffers Commander McGarrett? I spent two years locked away in that prison thinking of just how I was going to make you all pay Commander. I made a plan so perfect and so genius it would have made my sister proud. I'd like to know that my plan has worked Commander."

Steve started forward in a rage. "Where is he you sick son of a bitch?!" He shouted.  
"Ah ah ah," Harris said, pulling open his jacket suddenly.  
Steve jumped back immediately when saw the dynamite strapped around Harris' waist.  
"I'd stay back if I were you Commander." He said.

"What are you doing?" Steve demanded angrily. "I brought you the money!"  
"I never wanted your money Commander!" Harris said. "Don't you see? There's nothing here for me anymore. I lost my home, my parents, my sister... There's nothing left for me to live for. But I wanted to see the look on your face when I tell you that Detective Williams is going to die. And there is nothing you can do about it. He's going to die slowly and painfully and he's going to suffer until his last breath, but all you can do is sit there and watch. You see, he's going to run out of the oxygen I had circulating through his little glass hell soon and I mean very soon Commander, and then you get to sit back and enjoy the show as he slowly runs out of air and suffocates to death. You're going to feel helpless McGarrett. Just like I did."

"I'll find him you son of a bitch! With or without you!" Steve shouted.  
"Oh I know you'll find him Commander." Harris replied. "In fact, I'm counting on it. But by then it will be too late. I just wish I was able to stick around and see the look on your face when you pull his lifeless body out of the ground. Oh well. Good bye Commander McGarrett. Best of luck to you."

"DON'T!" Steve yelled. But it was too late. Harris had already hit the button and an explosion rocked the barn, sending Steve flying backwards.

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So for those of you who don't know, Sean Harris was the bad guy I made up in my first Hawaii Five-0 story 'Whatever I have to do'. It'll make more sense if you read that one but in case you didn't, long story short this Harris dude wanted revenge on Danny's brother Matt for stealing his fathers money and ruining his life. He couldn't get Matt so he took Danny instead to lure Matt out. Steve and Five-0 found Matt and saved Danny. I won't tell you how because it'll ruin the story if you wanna read it, but Sean Harris' sister ends up dead and while in prison he swears he'll get revenge. He's one sick dude.

The killer in the CSI episode just didn't do it for me I didn't like him that much and I've been wanting to write a sequel to Whatever I Have to do for a while so I thought I'd spin it this way!

Please let me know what you think! I'm really nervous about it...

Hope you enjoyed :)


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for all the reviews and for just reading! I'm glad you guys liked it :) here's the next chapter for you all!

Enjoy!

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The first thing Steve registered as he tried to maneuver himself onto his elbows was the ringing in his ears that wouldn't seem to stop.

"Oh god," he whispered, finally managing to sit up and shake his head. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. There was a huge hole blown into the middle of the barn and blood was splattered all over the place. Papers and bills of Stan's money were flying through the empty space.

Steve immediately wiped the blood off his face and moaned in despair. Sean Harris was one sick bastard, and Steve definitely wasn't going to shed any tears over his death, but he had also been their only lead to Danny and now he was dead.

How the hell was Steve going to find his partner now?

***************************************linebreak** **********************************

The abandoned house was soon swarming with squad cars and HPD officers. Everyone was searching desperately for anything that would lead them to Danny. He'd been missing for almost 20 hours and with their only suspect now dead, despair and doubt was starting to settle among the officers.

"How is he?" Chin asked, walking over to Steve where he sat in the back of the ambulance getting checked over by a medic.  
"His pupils are even," the medic replied.  
"He blew himself up Chin..." Steve said. "He blew himself up and left us with nothing. Nothing!"  
"I think we should take him to the hospital to get him checked out just in case," the medic said.  
"No!" Steve replied, jumping down from the ambulance. "I need to find my partner. He doesn't have much time left! I'm staying here."  
"Sir..." The medic began.  
"I'm staying!" Steve said again, leaving no room for argument.  
"I'll keep an eye on him," Chin promised the medic.

Steve was already up and making his way back into the house.  
"Kono," he called "What's going on?"  
"We have some car savvy HPD officers looking over the truck now Boss," Kono said. "They're going to take the car over to Fong and see if they can get the mileage of his last trip. Maybe we can find out just how far away Danny is. And CSU is going over this place with a fine toothed comb. If there's anything here they'll find it."  
"Alright good that's something..." He replied.

"He just blew himself up?" Kono asked, still not believing everything that had happened in the past hour.  
"Yeah..." Steve replied angrily. "How the hell did Harris even get out? And why weren't we notified as soon as it happened?"  
"I called the head of the Bellevue Psychiatric Facility in New York and left a message he won't ignore," Kono said. "Trust me he'll call back the second he hears it."  
"Did you threaten him?" Steve asked.  
"I don't think there's a person in that place I didn't threaten," she told him honestly.  
Steve smiled and shook his head. "We did a good job with you Kono," he said proudly.  
"Thanks Boss," she replied. "Now lets go get our boy back."

**************************************linebreak*** *************************************

Steve had barely stepped into HQ when Rachel came running up to him a flurry of panic.

"Steve!" She cried. "Where is he? Is he alright? What's happened?"  
"It was a trap Rachel... He was playing us. Blew himself up right in front of me," Steve replied angrily. "But this still isn't over alright? We're not going to stop until we find him."  
"Who was behind all of this?" Rachel asked.  
"Sean Harris," Steve replied.

Rachel gasped. "The guy who went after Daniel because of Matthew? But that's not possible... How did he get free?"  
"I don't know but I'm sure as hell going to figure it out," Steve replied threateningly.

He walked quickly to the computer screen with Rachel, Chin and Kono behind him.  
"How's he doing?" Steve asked.  
"God it's terrible Steve..." Rachel replied, shaking her head. "I've never seen him so miserable. Every once in a while he'll start moving around and sometimes he just groans... How could someone be so evil as to do something like this?"  
"I don't know... Listen Rachel," Steve said soothingly, "Why don't you go back home and get some rest? Grace needs you right now."  
"I... I can't just leave him Steve.." Rachel whispered.  
"Hey, look at me," Steve said, "You're not leaving him alright? I'll be here the entire time. If not me than Chin or Kono. One of us will be here at all times. I promise you that Rachel."  
Rachel nodded as fresh tears streamed down her face. "You'll call me if anything changes?" She asked.

"Of course Rachel," Kono promised. "Right away. Come on I'll walk you out. I'm going to go down to Fong's office Boss. I'll go see what he and those officers got from Harris' car. They said it wouldn't take long."  
Steve nodded and watched as Kono led Danny's distraught ex-wife out of the building.  
"I'll give Danny's parents an update and go over everything CSU sent over so far from what they collected at the scene," Chin said, heading to his office. "You stay here with him."

Steve nodded. "Can you call Catherine and ask her to try and trace where Harris got the explosives from?" He asked. "There's no way he'd be able to make that on his own, he must have gotten them from somebody. Send her some of the pictures of the bomb fragments CSU took, maybe she can figure out who and that can help lead us to Danny."  
"I'm on it brah," Chin replied.

Steve turned to the screen and sighed.  
"Just you and me buddy."

********************************************linebr eak*********************************

Danny sighed in relief as the light at his feet shut off again. The blindingly bright light was burning his eyes and the with it turning on and off every two minutes for god knows how long he'd been in this glass hell, Danny could feel himself slipping. He was going to go crazy soon if he hadn't already.

Sweat was dripping down his face and covered his body. It was stifling in the coffin and getting harder and harder to breathe. His whole body ached from the amount of times he'd shoved himself at the glass, desperately trying to get himself out of there.

He groaned in annoyance as the light turned on once again.  
"Enough with the damn light!" He shouted. His throat was raw and dry and it came out more like a croak. He licked his lips. Danny would kill for a drink right about now as he wondered just how much longer he could survive in here. What was taking his team so damn long?

As the light went off again, Danny turned his head to the small vent on his right and felt cool air being blown at his face. He took a deep breath and enjoyed the small miracle while he could.

But as soon as the light turned back on, the fan stopped. Danny moaned at the loss of the tiny breeze.  
"No!" He cried. "The fan is connected to the light..."

When the light turned off and then on again seconds later, Danny couldn't take it anymore. He reached for his gun and slowly picked it up to face to stare at it before he made his decision.

************************************************** *** linebreak***************************

Steve watched his partner intently on the screen. Every time the light turned on, Danny would pick up his head a glance at it. A part of Steve knew that Danny was probably annoyed by the bright light and wanted it to stay off, but he couldn't bring himself to shut down the video feed. He knew it was ridiculous but he felt like it would be giving up on his partner and he couldn't bare to leave Danny down there alone. This video was all he had left of Danny until they could get him back and as selfish as it was, Steve needed this. He needed to be able to see Danny, even if it was like this.

His brow crinkled in confusion as Danny reached his hand down and started feeling around for something at the bottom of the coffin.  
"What are you doing Danno?"

Steve's eyes widened and he leaned forward in alarm as Danny pulled his gun up and held it in front of his face.  
"What are you doing Danno?!" Steve said frantically.

Danny continued to stare at the gun with a desperate expression Steve had never seen before on his face.  
"Don't do it Danno! Don't you do it!" Steve begged even though he knew his partner couldn't hear him. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he stared at the screen.

"You're better than this Danny! Don't do it, god!"

Steve jumped backwards and shouted in horror as a gunshot rang out and the screen suddenly went black.

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Oh snap!

I know not a lot happened in this chapter but the next ones a biggie so I'll make it up to you soon :)

Hope you enjoyed!

Let me know what you think :) thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

On with the story! Sorry about that cliffhanger but you know how much I love keeping things suspenseful for you guys :)

Thanks to all my readers and reviewers! You guys make all the time I spend writing instead of doing schoolwork worth it :)

Enjoy!

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Danny laughed as the light shattered to pieces and the coffin was plunged into darkness.

He pulled out one of the glow sticks and snapped it, filling the small space with an eerie glow that he much preferred to the blinding light. He turned his head and sighed with relief as he felt the fan blowing the cool air in his face once again.

Danny wasn't ready to give up yet. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it, but he wasn't going to let that bastard Sean Harris win so easily. He had to get out of here so he could shoot that son of bitch himself. Then he was going to go after whoever let that sicko out of his cage.

Right now all Danny had to focus on was breathing. He had to trust his team to find him and get him out. But he wasn't going to die in here. He was going to fight, not only for himself but for his team, his family and especially his Gracie.

*******************************************linebre ak**************************************

Steve felt the sting of tears in his eyes as he stared at the now black computer screen. It was over. Danny was dead and it was his fault.

Steve put his head in his hands and leaned heavily on the computer table. What was he supposed to tell Grace? Rachel? His parents? That he just gave up and shot himself?!

"How could you Danny?" He whispered. "How could you?"

Steve's head shot up when he heard Danny's laughter fill the room suddenly. His vision was blurred from the tears in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away and looked back at the screen.

When he saw Danny's smiling face illuminated by a dull green light he felt so relieved he almost dropped to the floor. He started laughing along with his partner and wiping the tear tracks from his face.

"You're still alive buddy," Steve whispered. "Just hold on."

Steve was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of his phone ringing.  
He caught Chin's eye through his office window and motioned him over.

"Go Kono," Steve said, answering the phone.  
Chin looked at him in surprise when he noticed the red rimmed eyes and the rough edge to his voice. His eyes immediately flew to check on Danny before looking back at Steve questioningly.

Kono obviously heard something in his voice too because she immediately started to panic when he answered.  
"Steve? What is it? What happened? Is Danny okay?!" She asked frantically.  
"Yeah," Steve replied, "He's fine. But he shot out the light at the bottom of that coffin. When I saw him pick up the gun and heard the shot, for a second I thought..."

There was a part of Steve that was ashamed with himself for thinking that Danny would give up so easily. Just another thing for him to feel guilty about.

"Oh god Steve..." Kono said sadly.  
"I'm sorry brah," Chin told him.  
Steve shook his head. "The light was bothering him. I figured it was but I couldn't stand not being able to see him so I..."  
"Hey," Chin said, putting his hand on Steve's shoulder. "We all need to see him. This isn't on you. But he's holding it together. That's a good thing all right?"

Steve nodded. "What have you got Kono?" He asked, clearing his throat.  
"So Fong went over the car and saw that the last distance Harris traveled was 23 miles. And we know he was heading East," Kono told them. "Fong also said that you should send him the link to Danny's web cam. He'll go over it and look for clues or something that might be able to narrow down a rough location as to where Danny's buried."

Chin nodded and went to work at the computer table. "It's on its way now," he told Kono once he was finished.  
"How are we doing with the web came trace?" Steve asked Chin.  
"The signals running through a proxy server," He replied. "It runs through a different IP address every time. But I'm tracing the patters so were getting closer."  
"Okay, keep it running," Steve said unnecessarily.

"CSU has pretty much finished up at the crime scene," Kono reported. "There's just a couple of them left going over the scene, the rest of them left for the day."

Steve began pacing like a caged animal. He felt useless, just like Harris wanted him to. But he refused to let Harris win. He was going to find Danny and bring him home, and he didn't plan on wasting one more second of time sitting here in the office.

"Kono, do you want to go back to the scene with me and see what we can do? Maybe CSU needs help with something?" He asked.  
"You got it boss," Kono replied. "I'll meet you there."  
"I'll stay here and keep an eye on Danny," Chin said. "And yes Steve, I'll call you if he so much as sneezes."  
Steve gave a dry laugh on his way out. "Thanks Chin."

**********************************************line break******************************

It was dark already by the time Steve arrived at the crime scene and saw Kono waiting for him by her car.

"Hey boss," she said. "How you holding up?"  
Steve sighed. "I can't sit around and do nothing anymore. Not while he's in there suffering. Harris said he's going to run out of oxygen soon Kono. We're running out of time and we need to find him soon. Now!"  
"And we will!" Kono replied, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We're going to find him Steve. We're following all the leads we have and Catherine is working on finding the guy who gave Harris those explosives."  
"I sent him there Kono," Steve finally blurted out what he'd been feeling all day. "He was safe at home and he didn't want to go but I sent him anyway! If something happens... If we don't bring him back alive, that's on me."

Kono shook her head and punched Steve's shoulder.  
"Ouch!" Steve said, rubbing the now sore spot. "What the hell was that?"  
"That was for being what Danny would call a 'goof' Boss. This isn't your fault Steve. You sent him to that crime scene to do his job. Danny's a good cop. He knows the dangers of that job, especially working with you. How is it possibly your fault that Danny got taken while doing his job?"  
"I sent him there!" Steve insisted.  
"Oh okay so clearly it's your fault," Kono replied sarcastically. "Harris was going to take him anyway Steve. Whether you sent him to that crime scene or not. If you want to blame someone, blame Harris. Now are we going to stand here and argue about who's to blame for what happened to Danny or are we going to go in there and find a way to help him?"

Steve looked at Kono and smiled. "How'd you get to be so smart rookie?" He asked.  
"I had a good teacher," Kono replied, punching him again. "Now lets go inside and see what's going on."

They walked into the near empty house and saw a crime scene tech going through a bucket of bloody items that survived the explosion.  
"Have you got anything interesting?" Steve asked as they approached him.  
"I think so," the tech replied, holding up two pieces of intertwined wire. "It's a trigger wire."

Steve pulled out his phone and took a picture of it.  
"What are you doing?" Kono asked.  
"Sending this to Cath," Steve replied. "If she has pictures of all the bomb components it'll be easier for her to find out where the bomb came from using the NAVY's database."  
Kono nodded.

Steve put his phone back in his pocket and started to walk around.  
"Did you guys collect everything from the bomb blast already?" He asked.  
"Yes sir," the tech replied. "We went over every inch of this place."  
Steve nodded absently.

"I know that look," Kono said. "What are you thinking?"  
"I honestly don't know," Steve replied. "I guess I'm just hoping that there's something in here that will lead us to him, you know?"  
"How about this then, you go cover that half of the room and I'll cover this one," Kono suggested. "Have a look around. It can't hurt and maybe we will find something."

Steve knew that Kono was just humoring him so that he wouldn't feel as helpless as he did right now, but he didn't care. If walking around a half blown up room was all he could to help Danny then he would do it for hours.

"Alright," he replied. "I'll take this half."  
Kono nodded and went over to the other side of the room.  
Steve slowly scoured the place, checking every corner for even the smallest piece of evidence that was left behind. He knew he wouldn't find anything. The CSU were good at their jobs, especially when it was a cop's life at stake.

He continued to circle the room and was about to get Kono and head back to HQ when he felt it.

He stepped down on the sand, but his foot didn't sink in like it had been up to this point. Something was stopping it. He quickly jumped in place and heard the thud of his feet hitting something solid and metal.

"Over here!" He shouted.  
Kono and crime scene techs ran over immediately.  
"What is it?" Kono asked in alarm.  
"There's something here! Under the sand!" Steve said excitedly, hoping against hope that he had found where his partner was buried at last.

He immediately dropped down to his knees and started pushing some of sand away. Kono and the two techs were soon to follow, bending down and pushing as much sand away as they could.

"I've got an edge here!" Kono shouted.  
"Me too!" The tech replied.  
"Go get some crowbars!" Steve told one of the techs.

He immediately ran to grab some. He took one and handed the other to Steve.  
"Do you think Danny's under here?" Kono asked, barely hiding her hope.  
"I don't know," Steve replied, shoving the crowbar into the edge and motioning for the tech to do the same on the other side. "He could be. Whatever this is feels long enough."

Steve, Kono and the techs began to pull at the heavy object buried in the sand.  
"Come on," Steve said, straining his muscles. "Come on."

They lifted the large metal door out of the sand as much as they could and pushed it over to the side. Under it was what appeared to be a big pit filled with dirt. Danny could definitely be buried here.

"Start digging!" Steve shouted, thrusting his hands into the dirt immediately and shoveling it out of the way.  
The tech got a shovel for himself and handed the other to Kono. All four dug furiously, praying that it would be Danny they found in here, and that he would be alright.

******************************************linebrea k***********************************

Danny laid there in the coffin focusing on his breathing when he started to hear sounds from directly above him. He cracked another glow stick and lifted it over his head to try and see what was going on.

He tried not to get his hopes up but it was impossible not get excited when all he had felt up until now was desperation. Was it Steve? Had his team finally found him and come to get him out of this literal hell hole?

"Hey!" He tried to shout. He cleared his desert dry throat when all that came out was a pathetic croak. "Hey! Somebody get me out of here! Steve!"

He started banging at the glass again, praying that whoever it was above him would hear him.  
"I'm in here!" He shouted. "Hello!"

************************************************** **linebreak**************************

"Faster! Dig faster!" Steve shouted as the pit got deeper and deeper. "We've got to be close by now!"  
"Wait, stop!" Kono cried out as she felt her shovel hit something hard. "I just hit something. The coffin is glass, if we break it, we could hurt Danny. We need to be careful."

Steve jumped down into the hole and continued to shovel the dirt away with his hands.  
"It's plexiglass!" He shouted as he felt his finger touch the smooth surface. "DANNY!"

Kono jumped into the hole with Steve and helped him push away the dirt.  
"Hold on Danny! We're here!" She shouted.  
"We got you buddy!" Steve continued. "We've got you now!"

As the last of the dirt was finally cleared away, Kono gasped and bit back a cry before shoving her head into her hands in frustration.

"No no no! Dammit!" Steve shouted.  
"It's a dog!" Kono shouted. "It's a god damned dog Steve! Danny was never even here!"  
Steve jumped out the hole and shoved his hands through his hair angrily. "This was a prototype," he told her in disgust. "Harris was testing out the coffin so it would be perfect when he was ready to use it for Danny."  
"We were so close Steve..." Kono said miserably. "I really thought it was him."

Steve pulled her into a hug. "I did too Kono," he said. "But we're going to find him alright?"  
Kono nodded. "Let's bring this to Fong now," she said determinedly, motioning to the CSU techs for help. "Danny's not spending another day in that coffin."  
"He sure as hell is not," Steve agreed. "Let's go."

******************************************linebrea k***********************************

Danny looked down at his feet and gasped in horror as he realized that the sounds weren't coming from above him at all.  
The two bullets he had put in the light shattered it, and now the cracks were starting to spread through his glass coffin. Dirt was already starting to seep in through the cracks by the light he destroyed.

"No no no," Danny whispered desperately, as he watched the cracks grow on the sides of the casket. "Oh god."

Danny knew that as the glass continued to crack, more dirt would slowly start to fill the coffin... If that happened, he was dead.

************************************************li nebreak****************************

I'm really not very nice to you guys with all these cliffhangers, am I?

Sorry! It's out of love, promise!

Drop me a review and let me know what you think! More to come :)

Hope you enjoyed!


	9. Chapter 9

Hey! So sorry this took a while I've been crazy busy this weekend! Hope I haven't been keeping you hanging too bad ;)

Thanks so much for the reviews you all rock! I'm trying to answer them all but between holidays and school work I'm behind but I'm gonna try to make up for it now :) I really appreciate em!

Enjoy!

************************************************** *******linebreak********************************** ***

"How's he doing?" Steve asked the second he entered HQ.  
"He's still keeping it together for now," Chin replied. "About half an hour ago he started banging on the glass and shouting again, but he calmed down pretty fast."  
"Do you know what set him off?" Steve asked in concern.  
Chin shook his head. "No idea, but every once in a while he keeps looking down at his feet and then all around him nervously."  
"Do you have any idea what he's doing?" Kono asked, watching Danny closely.  
"None," Chin replied. "My best guess is that every second he's stuck in there his panic is rising. We need to get him out before he snaps and loses it. Did you find anything at the scene?"  
"A prototype for the coffin," Kono replied. "He tested it out using a dog first."  
"He was probably using it to test how long you could keep something alive inside of it," Steve added.

Chin shook his head. "He was one seriously sick son of a bitch."  
"I agree Cuz," Kono said. "We just dropped the coffin by Fong. He's looking over it now and seeing what he can get off it. Apparently he found a few small dimples on the bottom of the casket that he couldn't identify the use of right away, but he's already working on it and promised to get back to us as soon as he figures it out."  
"He'd better hurry..." Steve muttered. "I doubt Danny has more than a couple of hours left of air in there..."  
"Are you sure?" Kono asked in alarm.  
Steve just looked at her.

Kono nodded, trying to keep her emotions off of her face for her sake as well as Steve's.  
"They also found another bomb fragment at the scene," she said. "Steve already sent a picture of it to Catherine, hopefully she's close to finding out who gave Harris the bomb."

As if on cue, Steve's phone started to ring.

"Catherine, please tell me you've got something on that bomb," he begged.  
"I do," she replied. "It matches a few bombs made by one Arthur Akuna. He was arrested but got out recently. Chances are Harris got the bomb from him."  
"You have an address?" Steve asked, already tense and ready to go to battle.  
"351 Kalakaua Avenue," Cath replied. "Be careful Steve."

Steve hung up the phone.  
"We've got the bomb guy," he said. "Chin, you're with me. Kono stay here and watch Danny."  
Kono nodded. "Good luck guys. Bring back something we can use."

************************************************** *linebreak**************************

Danny looked down at the pile of dirt that was now covering his feet in despair. He had held out as long as he could, but he wasn't sure how much longer he had now. He tried. He really did. And he hoped that his team knew that, and that they didn't think he'd just given up on them.

Remembering the tape recorder, he picked it up and looked it over. If he was going to die in here, he was going to send a message to everyone that meant something to him first. So that when they found him, if they found him, he would have at least had the chance to say goodbye.

****************************************** linebreak**************************************

Steve pushed down on the gas as far as it would go and raced to Akuna's house.

"What do we know about this guy?" Chin asked.  
"He was suspected for a while for making and selling bombs but was finally arrested for selling a bomb to a guy who tried to blow up his house with his wife in it," Steve replied. "The guy turned Akuna in to try and get himself out of trouble. Akuna spent the last fifteen years in prison and got out nine months ago but I guess old habits die hard."  
"Let's just hope he knows something about where Harris buried Danny," Chin replied. "I don't know if Harris would have been so open to sharing his plans."  
"Whatever he knows, I'll get it out of him," Steve ground out.

They pulled up to the house and jumped out of the car immediately. Guns drawn, they ran to the door and Steve kicked it open. They entered the house and started looking around for Akuna.

"Take the upstairs Chin," Steve ordered. "Watch your back."  
Chin nodded and climbed the stairs as stealthily as he could.  
Steve stepped into the kitchen and looked around. A noise from the next room had him sprinting inside just in time to see Akuna running out the back door.

"Stop! Five-0!" He shouted, already racing after him. "He's going out the back door Chin!"  
Steve ran after Akuna and hopped the fence in the backyard.  
"Stop Akuna!" He shouted again, but unsurprisingly, the man didn't stop or turn around.

Steve kept chasing him. He could hear Chin a few yards behind him now. He was just closing in when he felt the world suddenly go in slow motion. Akuna was running into the middle of the street, but he was too focused on trying to get away to notice his surroundings and the fast approaching car.

"WATCH OUT!" Steve shouted, coming to a shortstop. The driver slammed on the breaks and the sound of screeching tires filled the air, but it was too late and the car plowed into Akuna, sending him flying in the air and landing hard on the pavement a short distance away.

"No!" Steve shouted, running to Akuna and dropping down beside him. He was still alive, but Steve knew he wouldn't be for much longer. He needed to get something, anything, out of this guy and he needed to do it fast.

"Where is Detective Daniel Williams?!" Steve shouted at him. "Where did Sean Harris, the man you sold the bombs to, bury him?! Where is he?!"  
"Bombs..." Akuna whispered. "Two..."  
His head dropped to the pavement and Steve knew he was dead.  
"No no no! Come on man!" He shouted.

He put his head in his hands. Steve already knew that Harris had bought the bombs from him. They'd gotten nothing out of Akuna that could help them. And now he was dead, their chances of finding Danny dying along with him.

He felt Chin put a hand on his shoulder. "It's not over yet Steve," He said. "We'll find him."  
"How Chin?" Steve asked. "HOW?! How are we going to find him now, huh?"

Before Chin could answer, his phone started to ring. "It's Kono," he told Steve.  
"What's going on Kono?" He asked.

Her response had both men running towards the car, frantic to get back to HQ as fast as humanly possible. Maybe even faster.

"It's Danny!" She cried. "He's saying goodbye!"

********************************************linebr eak********************************

Not being able to push it off any longer, with the air becoming thicker and the dirt steadily filling his glass hell, Danny pressed the record button and started.

"Hey uh.. My name is Daniel Williams. I'm a Detective and I work in the Governor's Five-0 task force under Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. If you're listening to this, I guess I'm dead already, which sucks but my killers name is Sean Harris and please, Steve, if you're listening to this, don't let him get away with it. Whether you kill him or send him away again for the rest of his miserable life, just don't let him get away partner. He may go after Mattie again, don't let him kill any more Williams'. The world needs them."

Danny took as deep of a breath as he could and blinked back the tears that had filled his eyes.  
"Mom and Dad, I know this is about the lousiest way to say goodbye but it's all I got right now so here it goes... I love you guys so much and I want to thank you for raising me right and turning me into somebody who helps people. I never coulda got this far without you guys and all the support you've given me and I'll always be grateful to have had the best parents in the world." He couldn't hold back the tears anymore as his already strained voice started to crack. "I'm so sorry... God I'm so sorry. I don't want Brenda or Sandra to hear this, please don't let them hear it, it will kill them. But tell them that they're the best sisters a guy could ask for, even though they spent the first five years of my life shoving me into dresses and making me drink tea with their dolls... I will always love them, make sure they know that. And tell Sandra not to let Eric drop out of college again. He's a good kid and he needs to make something of himself..."

Danny swallowed and kept going.  
"Mattie... I know what you must be thinking, but this isn't your fault okay? Harris is a sick sick guy. I love you little brother. And I need you to be there for mom and our sisters okay buddy? They're gonna need you, jail or not. I'm trusting you to take care of them now Mattie. And when you get out, whenever that may be, you better spend the rest of your life making it up to them, okay? Be there for them like you were for me when Rachel left. I couldn't have gotten through that without you, and I thank you for that. I love you Matt, I always have and I always will, no matter what."

"I guess you're up Rachel... I just want to say that even though we had our problems and even though we fought so much, I only ever wanted you to be happy. I don't care if it was with me or Stan, I just want you to always be happy, and to have a good life because you deserve it Rach. And I'm so sorry things got bad between us, and that it didn't work out, but a part of me will always love you. Take care of our baby girl Rach, with everything that I've done in my life, she is still what I'm most proud of, and please remind her of that. Tell her that every day and make sure she always remembers how much Danno loves her. But don't you ever let her hear this Rachel. Never! And please don't tell her how I died until she's older, much older. Maybe don't tell her at all. I don't want her to know that I spent my last hours buried in a glass coffin underground somewhere... That's not something she should ever have to know... Please let my team keep her in their life. They're gonna need her when I'm gone. She's the only part of me they're going to have left..."

Danny sighed and ignored the tears that streamed freely down his face now. "And last but not least, it's time for my Ohana. Steve, Chin, Kono, I really want to thank you guys for everything you've done for me these past four years. I was miserable on this rock for six months, and I didn't really have anybody but Grace, but then I met my Neanderthal animal and the next thing I knew, I was part of a team I never wanted to join in the first place. But I never for a second regretted it, and I wouldn't take it back for anything in the world. You three showed me that I could make a home for myself here and you gave me another family. One I never thought I would have. I love you guys and I'm sorry for leaving you like this. Just try not to miss me too much alright?"

"Chin Ho Kelly, you're one of the best people I've ever met, and life has been so damn unfair to you, but I hope you find happiness again buddy, no one deserves it more than you man. And Kono, I really hope everything works out with Adam, he's actually a pretty decent guy. I'll haunt his ass if he hurts you, but with that roundhouse kick of yours, I doubt I'd even need to... And for the love of god guys, please take good care of Steve for me. I don't want to see him wherever I go for a long long time."

Danny closed his eyes and swallowed again. He wasn't sure why, but he knew that this particular goodbye was going to be the hardest one for him to say. "And that brings me to you Steve. I love you partner. And whatever thoughts are going through your head right now, whatever blame you're taking on yourself, get rid of it. Now. I said now Steven! This isn't on you buddy. I am not your fault. I know you tried your hardest to find me, and that's good enough for me. Take care of my baby girl Steve. Tell her that Danno will always love her and that I'll always be watching over her. Make sure she knows that she is the best thing that ever happened to me and how sorry I am that I'll never get the chance to see her graduate or walk her down the aisle... But I'm leaving that up to you now Steven. You need to be there for her okay? She loves you, all of you. And tell her that she can't date until she's 25. I expect full back ground checks from you on all her boyfriends Commander. I'll haunt your ass too if you don't. Good bye buddy, I know you've lost so many people that you loved already, and I know that this is going to hurt, but lean on Chin and Kono, lean on Gracie, Catherine, my parents, whoever you need to. Just don't keep it all inside SEAL boy. We all need someone everyone once in a while and you're no different. I know this message is really mushy, but I hope you guys can forgive me for that too. I love all of you, I'm sure as hell gonna miss you all and I'm sorry. I really tried guys, I swear I did and I'm so damn sorry."

Danny finished his recording and placed the recorder down next to him as his sobs filled the coffin that was slowly caving in on him.

***************************linebreak************** ********************************

The three Five-0 members watched silently as Danny said his goodbyes on the tape recorder.

"This is not the end buddy..." Steve said. "I swear to you it's not."  
Steve felt the familiar sting of tears again as he watched Danny get more and more emotional as he recorded the message.

He watched as the tears streamed down Danny's face. Four years of being partners and the only time Steve had ever seen him cry like that was when Rick Peterson had taken Grace.  
Steve couldn't even imagine what his partner was saying. How do you say goodbye to everyone you love using only a tape?

Steve was never going to listen to the tape. He swore to himself that he wouldn't have to, because they were going to find Danny alive and he was going to watch his partner burn that tape recording and roast marshmallows over it if he didn't burn it himself first.

"He doesn't think he's going to make it," Kono whispered miserably. "He's giving up."  
"But we're not!" Steve insisted harshly. "Akuna may be dead, but we're going to find him. Your trace is getting closer!"

"Look!" Chin shouted suddenly.

All heads flew back to the screen. They watched in horror as Danny started jerking his body around and screaming frantically. He was banging against the glass again and shoving his head from side to side so fast Steve was afraid he'd hurt himself.

"What the hell is going on?!" Kono shouted out in alarm. "What's wrong with him?!"  
"He's going into convulsions!" Chin cried as Danny continued to jerk and scream in the coffin. "He's losing it!"

Steve's eyes were blown wide with panic and he was shaking his head frantically.  
"No he isn't..." He said. "Chin zoom in by the corner near Danny's head! Now!"  
Chin quickly zoomed in and saw what Steve saw.

Kono cried out and put her hand over her mouth to stifle it.  
"Oh god no..." Chin whispered.  
"Ants..." Steve managed to choke out. "My god they're going to eat him alive."

***************************************linebreak** **************************************

How gruesome is that? I have the biggest fear of bugs so it actually hurt me to write that part but its important to the story so I couldn't skip it!

And just a reminder, this isn't a death fic so don't get too worried. Danny's not gonna be ant dinner. Hope that helps!

Damn that goodbye speech took FOREVER to write! I originally only wanted to put the team goodbye in there but it didn't seem very Danny-like to ignore the rest of his family so I had to write that in too. I'm actually kinda nervous about it. What do you guys think? Was it too much or did you like it?  
I also made up that whole scene with Akuna because I wanted some more action in here so I hope that was okay too.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Well as much as you can enjoy a story about someone who's been buried alive... Until next time!


	10. Chapter 10

Couldn't leave you hanging for too long when there were ants trying to eat Danny now could I?

Thanks so much for reading and for the reviews everyone! Sorry if I caused anybody nightmares it was unintentional!

On with the story! Let's see how dinner... Oops I meant Danny, is doing!

Enjoy :)

********************************************linebr eak*********************************************** *

Danny screamed and thrashed around in the coffin, trying desperately to get the ants off of his legs. He had no idea what happened. One second he was just lying there and the next, he felt sharp stinging spreading all over his legs. He had looked down and started panicking immediately when he saw the ants crawling through the bullet holes and cracks by the destroyed light.

They were under him now but he'd lifted his head and was able to at least keep them off his face. The burning and itching in his legs was becoming unbearable. He kept kicking in the hopes that they'd get off of him and move on but they wouldn't budge.

"Get them off!" He shouted. "Somebody please get them off! Get me out of here!"  
He tried to calm himself down from his sheer panic. He could practically hear Steve in his head. He knew exactly what his partner would say and what he was supposed to do right now.

Taking a shallow yet somewhat calming breath, he stilled his legs and tried to move as little as possible. He remembered talking to Steve once about one of his "classified" missions in a rainforest, and how the bugs didn't bite him as much when he kept still.

It took every ounce of his self control to keep himself frozen as he felt the ants crawl up and down his legs, but it did help with the biting... At least a little bit anyway. He tried to picture Steve, standing there saying something stupid like 'That's right Danno, just don't move buddy and it'll be okay. I had to deal with this for three weeks Danny, don't be such a girl. You can take it.'

As pathetic as it may be, picturing his partner actually helped calm Danny down. He remained still and kept his head elevated as best as he could. He just hoped his team got there soon because he was starting to seriously doubt how much more of this he could take. He could practically feel himself cracking like the glass that surrounded him.

***************************************linebreak** ***************************************

"That's right buddy," Steve whispered as he watched Danny go still on the screen. "Just don't move. I'm gonna get you out of there. I promise."  
"We need to do something!" Kono cried out. "We need to do something now!"  
"What?" Chin asked frantically. "What are we supposed to do? Steve? We can't just sit here and watch him anymore! We're out of time!"

Kono stared at her cousin with wide eyes. Chin Ho Kelly rarely lost his cool, and watching him lose it like this now was doing nothing to calm her already frazzled nerves.

Everyone was brought out of their cloud of blind panic when Kono's phone started to ring. She answered it quickly and put it on speaker.  
"Go Fong," she said.  
"Fire ants!" He shouted immediately.  
"What?" Steve asked in confusion. "What are you taking about?"  
"The ants in the coffin! They're fire ants!" Fong said again.  
"There are fire ants near every rain forest in Hawaii Charlie," Kono said. "That doesn't help us find a location."  
"No!" Fong insisted. "These ants are not the tropical fire ants in rain forests Kono, but a very rare type! Solenopsis Novemmaculata! They're especially rare in Hawaii because they don't like Hawaiian soil! You can only find them in specific areas where there are plant nurseries!"

"Chin!" Steve barked immediately.  
"Already on it Steve," Chin said from the computer tale. "There are 11 nurseries on Oahu."  
"Narrow down the list to the area we got on our web trace so far," Kono said excitedly.  
"We've got six," Chin replied.  
"Don't forget the 23 mile radius we got from Harris' truck!" Steve continued.  
"I've got it narrowed down to one nursery! Danny's got to be here!" Chin said, pointing to an area on the map.  
"Let's go!" Steve shouted, already on his way out the door. "Chin call Duke and have all available units meet us there! And call Catherine! I want ground penetrating radar on that area as soon as possible!"  
"On it!" He replied, pulling out his phone as they quickly left.

The three Five-0 members raced out of HQ, intent on finally getting their missing piece back.

*************************************linebreak**** **********************************

"Pull off here Steve!" Kono called out, as they sped down the road with at least ten HPD squad cars and an ambulance behind them.

Steve quickly drove off the street and onto the dirt. "How close are we?" He asked. He needed to be there already. It killed him not knowing what was going on with Danny right now, even though they were so close to finally getting him back. It was already dark and according to Steve's calculations, Danny only had about fifteen minutes of air left in that coffin. Not to mention the ants trying to make a dinner out of him.

"Here's the nursery Steve!" Chin said. "Stop!"  
The three team members jumped out of the car and the HPD officers soon followed.  
"Alright," Steve ordered. "Fan out. Look for loose soil, anything that might have been dug up recently."

The HPD officers immediately spread out and ran in different directions looking for Danny.  
"What about the ground penetrating radar?" Kono asked, as she went with Steve to join the search party.  
"Catherine's working on it but there's a lot of land here," Steve replied. "She might need some time. But I'll dig up this whole damn place if I have to."  
Kono nodded. "Let's go find him."

"Hey! Steve!" They heard Chin call from not far away.  
They both immediately ran over to him. "What have you got?" Steve asked Chin where he was kneeling in the dirt.  
Chin pulled a small, dirt covered cell phone out of the ground. "This was sticking out of the ground! It's the transmitter he used to send us the video feed of Danny," Chin replied. "He can't be far!"

Steve's phone started to ring.  
"Catherine!" He answered. "Tell me something good!"  
"I've got a signal!" Catherine said excitedly. "It's got to be Danny, it's just the right size!"  
"Where?!" Steve asked. "Where is he?"  
"I've got you tracked too, he's about twenty feet to the left of your location!" She replied.

Steve dropped the phone and immediately ran in the direction Catherine sent him, Chin and Kono hot on his heels.  
He dropped down to the ground when he saw the pile of soil that had clearly been dug up and replaced recently.  
"He's here!" Steve shouted as loud as he could. "Get me the shovels! I found him!"

*****************************************linebreak ************************************

The ant bites were causing Danny to fall in and out of consciousness in the coffin. The air was thick and stifling, and Danny could barely breathe anymore. He didn't know what was real and what was fake. But he could still feel the sharp sting of the ants biting his legs, and working their way up his arms. Danny knew he didn't have much time left now.

_He opened his eyes suddenly and looked around in confusion. What was he doing in Max's office? He looked down and saw that he was lying naked, under a sheet on Max's table. _  
_"What the hell is going on?" He asked._

_He saw Steve and Max enter the room. _  
_"Guys?" He asked. "What happened? What am I doing here?" _  
_They ignored him. _  
_Steve walked up to him and lifted his arm, before letting out a low whistle. "Look at these bites," Steve said nonchalantly. Like he didn't even care that it was Danny, his partner and his friend, lying on Max's autopsy table. "I've seen a lot of fire ant bites, but none like these. Do you think he suffered?" _  
_"Do I think he suffered?" Max repeated. "Oh yes I do think so Commander. Very much." _  
_"It's a shame we couldn't get to him sooner..." Steve said, lifting a really large and nasty looking saw. "Oh well, would you like to do the honors Max?" _  
_"Don't mind if I do," he replied, taking the saw and turning to Danny. "Here we go." _  
_"WAIT!" Danny was shouting. "Wait! I'm not dead! I'm alive! Don't do this! DON'T!"_

"NO!" Danny shouted as he woke up gasping back in the coffin. He immediately shook the ants off of his arms as best he could and put his hands on his stomach. It was closed, everything where it should be. Max hadn't cut him up and played with his organs. Not yet anyway.

****************************** linebreak***************************************** *******

"Dig faster!" Steve shouted, pushing his shovel into the dirt once again. "He doesn't have a lot of time left!"  
He continued to dig with his team and the HPD officers as quickly as possible. They'd dug far already, but the coffin still wasn't in sight yet.

"Come on!" He growled as he continued to shovel as hard as he could, ignoring his straining muscles and the fact that he hadn't slept in nearly three days. He could sleep later, he needed to find Danny NOW. "Come on! Where the hell are you, Danny?!"

He looked down in horror as his watch started to beep frantically.  
Chin and Kono looked at him quickly, their expressions mirroring his own.

Time was up. Danny was out of air.

************************************************** *******linebreak************************

"No," Danny whispered, shaking his head in despair. "No no no."  
He could feel the tears falling again, and he didn't even try to stop them this time.  
"I can't.." He croaked out, his fingers tightening around the handle of his gun. "I'm sorry... I ... I can't."

Nobody could say that Danny hadn't tried. He had. He tried harder than anything he'd ever done in his life. But it was over. It was finally over. He couldn't get enough air into his lungs and the ants continued to gnaw at his arms and legs. He just couldn't do this anymore, not for one more second. But he wasn't going down like this. He wasn't going to lay in this coffin and wait to either suffocate or be eaten to death. Danny Williams was done.

Tears continued to stream down his face as he picked up the gun and put it under his chin.

************************************************** *linebreak****************************

"I hit something!" Steve shouted.  
"We've got you Danny!" Kono shouted, praying her friend could hear them, and know that they were coming.

Steve dropped to his knees and started pushing the dirt away, looking desperately for his partners face.

"I've got him!" Steve shouted as the sight of his partner, fogged by the plexiglass, finally came into view. "Hey! Danny! Hey! We got you man!"  
The relief Steve was feeling vanished immediately and he gasped in shock when he saw the gun Danny had in his hand, pointed right under his chin.

"Look at me Danno!" He cried. "Hey look at me! Put that down! You put that down right now buddy! We've got you! Hang on!"  
Steve almost cried in relief when he saw Danny drop the gun. Tears were streaming down his partners face as he started banging on the glass above him, trying to reach Steve.

"Get me out of here Steve!" Danny shouted, his voice raw and choked with tears. "Please Steve I can't... I can't breathe!"  
"Just hang on for me partner, I'm getting you out of here right now!" Steve said soothingly. He looked down at the ants on his partners arms and legs. "Get me a fire extinguisher now!" He shouted.  
Kono immediately grabbed it and dropped down next to Steve, Chin right beside her.

"Danny!" Kono shouted. "We've got you!"  
"Just hang on brah!" Chin continued. "Almost there."  
Danny put his hand on the glass, desperately reaching out towards his teammates and friends.

Steve grabbed the fire extinguisher and lifted the lid of the coffin just enough to fit the nozzle in. He started to blow short bursts from the extinguisher into the coffin. Not enough to suffocate Danny, but enough to freeze the ants and get them the hell off his partner.  
"Hang on buddy!" Steve was shouting, seeing his partner start to panic. "Just hang on! This is to kill the ants okay?"

"Get the paramedics!" Chin shouted.

Everyone was too busy with Danny to realize when Kono stepped away suddenly to answer her ringing phone.  
"What is it Fong?" Kono asked curtly, already wanting to get back to Danny. "We found him. We're getting him out now."  
Kono listened intently to what Fong was telling her. "What?!" She shouted. "Are you sure?! You've got to be kidding me!"

Kono dropped the phone and ran hurriedly back over to the coffin where Steve and Chin were getting ready to open it and get Danny out.

"Everyone out of the hole!" She yelled. "Get out now!"  
"Are you kidding me?!" Steve shouted angrily back at her. "What the hell are you talking about Kono?!"

"The box is ready to blow up Steve!" Kono shouted. "There are charges under it! If you move Danny, the coffin is going to explode!"

**********************************************line break********************************************* ***

Another cliffhanger... I know I'm terrible but I really do like cliffhangers! It's keeps things interesting! If it makes you feel better I'm already hard at work on the next chapter! I'll post it soon!

Btw that type of fire ant really does exist! I chose that one because it has a fantastic name but I couldn't find out if it's actually a rare type or if it's even in Hawaii at all but let's pretend for now. I hope that ground penetrating radar stuff made sense, it's been a while since I dealt with stuff like that myself. Sincere Apologies if it doesn't though.

Thanks for reading :) hope you enjoyed!

Please drop me a review and let me know what you think:) cheers!


	11. Chapter 11

I promised it would come soon and so here's the next chapter for you!  
Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing! I promise I'm not this evil in real life.

Enjoy :)

*********************************************lineb reak********************************************** ****

Danny put his finger on the trigger and took as deep of a breath as he could in this stifling box.  
"I'm sorry," he whispered, tears streaming freely down his face. "I'm so sorry."

He was about to pull the trigger and end it all when he heard shouts from above him. He didn't believe it at first, sure that he was just hallucinating again but a sudden bright light from above him filled the coffin and a face came into view.

"Steve?" He whispered, still not sure if his partner was really there or not.  
"Look at me Danno!" He heard. "Hey look at me! Put that down! You put that down right now buddy! We've got you! Hang on!"

It was Steve. Steve was really there, and he was telling Danny to put the gun down. They'd finally found him. Danny dropped the gun immediately started to bang against the glass, desperately trying to reach his partner.  
"Get me out of here Steve!" He cried, his voice cracking again. "Please Steve I can't... I can't breathe!"

There was so much Danny wanted to say to his partner right now. 'Where's that bastard Harris? How's my baby girl? How the hell do bugs that small cause so much pain? Thanks for finally finding me...' But he would get to all that later. Right now he wanted to get the hell out of this coffin so he could breathe again and maybe take a nice long shower...

He listened to Steve's soothing words as his partner promised to get him out. He trusted Steve, but if he didn't open the coffin in ten seconds, Danny was going to shoot his way out.

He looked up as Chin and Kono also came into view above him.  
"Danny! We've got you! Kono cried.  
"Just hang on brah! Almost there!" Chin said.  
Danny could still feel the tears running down his face as he put his hand to the glass and reached for his friends. Normally, he'd be embarrassed about all this crying but he was just so happy to see them that he couldn't stop himself and hold it in. They were here now and he knew everything was finally going to be okay.

Steve lifted the lid and started spraying foam into the coffin. Danny started to panic, his mind too hazy from the lack of oxygen to realize what his partner was doing.  
"Hang on buddy! Just hang on! This is to kill the ants okay?" Steve shouted.  
Danny nodded and actually cracked a smile when he felt the soothing cold foam on his arms. The stinging and burning faded slightly and he started to wipe the damn ants off of himself.

He watched Steve throw the fire extinguisher to the side, as he and Chin got ready to lift the top off and finally get him out of his little glass hell.  
Danny held his breath, prepared to jump out of the coffin the second he was free.

So when Danny suddenly heard the voices of his teammates shouting above him, and then saw Steve and Chin let go of the lid and start to back away slightly, he went into a full blown panic.

************************************************** *****linebreak************************************ ***

"Are you kidding?! What charges?!" Steve asked angrily. "What are you saying Kono? That we leave Danny in here?!"  
"Of course not Steve but listen to me!" Kono cried. "Fong just called. Those dimples on the bottom of the prototype coffin had traces of Semtex in them Steve! That's a plastic explosive!"  
"Two bombs..." Chin whispered, looking up at Steve. "When Akuna was dying, he said 'two bombs'. He must have been telling us that he sold two bombs to Harris. One to blow himself up, the other to try and blow Danny and us up."

Steve looked down at his parter. Danny was looking back up at him through the foggy glass, his eyes pleading and desperate.  
"I'm not leaving here without Danny!" He shouted adamantly.

Chin stood up and put a hand on Steve's shoulder. "Steve, Kono's right."  
"I'm not leaving here without him!" Steve said again.  
"None of us are Steve!" Chin said forcefully. "We are not leaving Danny here. But we need to come up with a plan that doesn't involve blowing him up!"

Steve looked up at Chin. He was right, and Steve knew it. If he moved Danny now, he'd kill them all. He looked back down at his partner.  
"I'm so sorry Danny," he said before standing up and climbing out the hole.

Tears sprang to his eyes immediately when he heard Danny's desperate cries for help and the renewed banging on the top of the coffin. If they didn't come up with something fast, Steve was going to rip that top off and pull his partner out, consequences be damned.

************************************************** ********linebreak********************************* ****

"I'm so sorry Danny," he heard Steve say before he got up and left Danny there.  
"NO!" Danny cried, banging against the glass so hard his knuckles started to bleed again. "Steve! Come back! Get me out of here please!"

He felt the harsh panic grip him all over again as his teammates, his lifelines at the moment, just left him there in his glass coffin.

'Where the hell did they go? Why were they doing this? How could they leave him in here like that?' The questions ran through Danny's mind rapidly one after the other as he continued to scream desperately for his team.

The rational part of his mind knew that his friends would never actually leave him here to die, and that there was probably a reason they didn't let him out right away. But the lack of air mixed with the desperation was sending him into a near uncontrollable panic. He needed to get out of there and he needed to get out NOW.

"Steve! Kono! Chin! SOMEBODY GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE! Come back please, I'll do anything! Where the hell are you?! Don't leave me in here!"

*****************************************linebreak ************************************************** ***

Steve looked around them desperately. Trying to find something, anything they could use to get Danny out of there safely.

When Steve saw the backhoe not far from where they were standing, he knew exactly what to do. A weight transfer, just like when his fellow SEAL had stepped on a bomb trigger on one of their missions. If they could replace Danny's weight, even if just for a second, they could get him out of the coffin before it exploded.

"Okay, I know what we're gonna do," Steve told his team and the many HPD officers waiting to help. "We need two hundred pounds of dirt here right now, and we're going to use that backhoe to get it. Go go go!"

Steve watched as a few officers ran to do as he said. He immediately went back to Danny and got right on top of the coffin.

Renewed fear and worry shot through him when he saw just how bad his partner was doing. Danny was still shouting and banging desperately on the glass. He was going to hurt himself even more if he hadn't already.

"Danny!" He shouted. "Can you hear me? It's going to take just another second to get you out of there buddy!"  
Danny kept shouting as if Steve hadn't said anything.

"Detective Williams!" Steve bellowed, putting so much authority into his tone, all of his Navy Commanding Officers would have been proud. "Listen to me!"  
He felt a sliver of relief as Danny started to calm down slightly and looked up at him.

Steve pressed his hand to the coffin. "Put your hand on my hand!" He ordered.  
He waited as Danny slowly put his hand up and matched it with Steve's.  
"Good, that's good Danno," he said soothingly. "Now listen, there may be explosives under the box. They're probably set on pressure switches."

Steve watched as Danny put his head down in despair, but he wasn't letting his partner give up that easily.  
"We're going to get you out," Steve promised. "But we need to equalize your body weight before we can pull you out okay buddy?"  
Danny didn't say anything in reply.  
"Danno," Steve persisted. "Nod your head if you understand me."  
He gave a small smile as Danny nodded slowly. He knew his partner was tough, and he wasn't going down now without a fight.

"Okay," Steve said, turning towards the HPD officer in the backhoe. "We're going to use that dirt from the backhoe to equalize his weight. I need a rope and a hook to connect to that truck!"  
"We got it!" Chin called.

"Alright Danno," Steve said, turning back to his partner. "We're going to open the lid and get you out. But I need you to stay lying down okay? Or else you'll blow us all up. You understand me bud?"

Danny nodded.  
"Do you promise?" Steve asked. "For Gracie?"  
"I do," Danny said. "I promise... I promise!"

"Bring it over this way!" Steve heard Kono shouting, directing the backhoe towards Danny.

Chin knelt down near Steve and together they pulled the lid off of the coffin.  
Danny immediately cried out and reached his hand towards Steve. Chin started rubbing Danny's leg soothingly as Steve grabbed his partners hand and squeezed it tight.  
"We've got you buddy," Steve said. "Just stay still one more second Danno. You're doing so good. It's okay."

Danny nodded, looking up at Steve and trying to stop the small sobs that were wracking through his body.  
"Okay," Danny whispered, taking in huge gulps of air and calming himself down. "Okay. I'm ready."  
"Alright," Steve replied, squeezing his hand again before turning to the HPD officers. "Bring that over!"

Kono directed the backhoe as closely as she could to Danny, and handed Steve a small hook that connected back to the truck.  
Steve connected the hook to Danny's belt before climbing out of the hole with Chin and grabbing the rope that the rest of the officers were already holding onto.

"Alright Danno," he said. "We're going to pull you out now. I want you to close your eyes and hold your breath... NOW!"

The backhoe started dropping dirt onto Danny immediately.  
"Ready... GO!" Steve shouted.

Steve, along with Chin, Kono and the rest of the HPD officers pulled the rope as hard as they could.

********************************************linebr eak**********************************************

Danny stared up at Steve and the rest the HPD officers as they held tightly to the rope that was connected to him.  
His heart was beating frantically, and he tried to take in more deep breaths of fresh air while he still could.

He looked at the metal scooper of the backhoe that was directly above him, ready to drop 200 pounds of dirt on top him. He had finally been found and dug up and yet here he was, waiting to be buried once again, this time without the top of the coffin to protect him.

It was taking all of his self control not to just jump out of the coffin right now. But he had promised Steve, and he was a man who kept his promises. Not to mention the fact that getting up would also mean getting himself blown to pieces, and he did not make it this far just to die now. He was going to get out of here and see his baby girl again. He wasn't finished yet.

He didn't know if they could pull him out fast enough. He didn't know if the bomb wouldn't just blow him to pieces before they even had a chance. He didn't know much of anything actually. But he trusted his partner, he trusted Steve. And he knew that Steve would get him out of here. Steve WOULD get him out, he always does.

"Alright Danno," Steve said. "We're going to pull you out now. I want you to close your eyes and hold your breath... NOW!"

Danny immediately shut his eyes and held his breath. He felt the dirt begin to pour down on top of him, crushing him and making everything dark again. And then he felt himself being pulled up and out of the dirt.

'Here we go,' he managed to think as he was pulled from the dirt and back into the air.

Danny heard and felt the explosion behind him. He opened his eyes and saw the dirt exploding all around him as he fell hard to the floor. And then everything went black once again.

************************************************li nebreak******************************************* ***

Steve didn't even wait for the dust to clear before he was off, running to where his partner lay prone on the ground.

He knelt down next to Danny and put a hand on his shoulder. "Danny? Can you hear me Danny?" He asked frantically, checking for a pulse. He let out a breath of relief when he felt it beating under his fingertips. Not as strong as he would've liked, but definitely there.

"Excuse me Sir," one medic said as they approached him. Steve moved back just enough for them to work, but he didn't go far. If Danny woke up, Steve wanted him to have a familiar face to latch onto to calm him down. Besides, Steve had just gotten his partner back, and he wasn't ready to let him go just yet.

"How is he?" Kono asked as she and Chin came to stand beside him.  
"He'll be alright," Steve replied.  
"What he went through..." Chin said, trailing off before voicing what they were all thinking.  
"I know," Steve replied. "But Danny's strong. He's going to pull through this. And we're going to be there for him every step of the way."  
Chin and Kono nodded in agreement.

"We're ready to move him," one of the medics said as they lifted Danny's stretcher and started towards the ambulance. "We're taking him to HMC."  
"I'm riding along," Steve replied, his tone leaving no room for argument.  
"We'll meet you at the hospital brah," Chin said.

Steve nodded and climbed into the back of the ambulance. He settled himself next to Danny and gripped his unconscious partner's hand tightly.

He finally got his first good look at his partner. He frowned at Danny's pale and sweaty face, half concealed by an oxygen mask. He looked down at Danny's arms and practically growled in anger when he saw the nasty looking bites and bloody knuckles. He couldn't even imagine what his partner had gone through. Danny didn't deserve this.

Steve wished Harris was still alive so he could beat that bastard to a pulp before killing him again. But he felt some relief knowing that he was rotting in hell right now, and could never get to Danny again.

Steve shook his head sadly and knelt down next to his partner.  
"We've got you now Danny," he said soothingly. "You're going to be okay buddy. Just rest, I promise I'll take care of everything.

************************************************** *linebreak**************************************** **

And there's the rescue! Do you forgive me for all the cliffhangers now? Pretty please?

I'm working on the next chapter and I'm gonna try to have it up tomorrow night but it may take me a little longer so if it does sorry but I'll try to write fast.

So what did you think? Let me know please :)  
Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

Here's the next one :)  
Thanks to all my readers and reviewers!

Just a side note- I'm not a doctor, and although I am a psych major, I'm not a professional so if something in this chapter is not exact, I apologize.

Enjoy!

***************************************linebreak** **********************

Danny drifted in and out of consciousness for a while, enjoying the feeling of a mattress under him and fresh air to inhale. He heard people speaking around him, sometimes even to him, but the voices all mingled and he couldn't focus enough to actually hear what they were saying. Every once in a while he'd feel a touch on his arm or leg, a hand holding his, or other soothing and reassuring gestures.

Danny didn't want to leave the darkness. It was comforting and safe, nobody could hurt him here. But the voices wouldn't stop calling him. When he finally started to focus on them more, he heard them pleading for him to wake up, telling him that everything was alright now and it was safe to open his eyes.

His return to the light was slow. The first thing he registered was the sound of something beeping. His brain was still foggy, but he figured he was in a hospital. He took a deep breath and then...

He panicked. There was something covering his mouth and nose, and he felt extremely claustrophobic suddenly. Even though the mask was feeding him nice, clean air, he felt trapped, like it was suffocating him. Like he was back in that box.

The heart monitor started beeping frantically and he heard a person next to him jump up. Danny tried to reach his hand up to pull the mask off of his face, but his arms were wrapped in something and they were too heavy. He was too weak.

He started shaking his head from side to side, hoping that the suffocating mask would fall off by itself.

"Danny!" Someone was shouting frantically. "Danny look at me! It's alright! You're safe! Open your eyes!"  
The voice was all too familiar, but Danny ignored it and continued to thrash around desperately. He wanted the mask gone.

"What happened Commander?" A voice Danny didn't recognize asked. Having a stranger so close to him didn't do anything to calm Danny's panic.  
"I don't know! He was sleeping and then he just started thrashing around suddenly! What the hell is going on?!" The other person replied. Danny was able to place that voice this time. It was a voice he knew well, and he also knew that the person who belonged to that voice wouldn't let anything happen to him. This voice was safe.

"Off!" He rasped out. "Steve! Off!"  
"What...?" Steve asked in confusion. "Danny what's wrong? Open your eyes buddy we've got you now!"  
"Off!" Danny choked out louder than before.  
"The mask!" Steve said suddenly. "He wants the oxygen mask off!"  
"I'm afraid that's not possible Commander," the voice he didn't recognize said.

"Please..." Danny moaned. "Off."  
"I don't give a damn Doctor!" Steve said angrily. "He was just buried alive! He feels like the mask is suffocating him and he wants it off!"

Danny felt a strong hand pull the mask off of his face. He sighed in relief. He felt like he could breathe again, with nothing trapping him. The same hand grasped Danny's tightly.

"It's gone Danny," Steve said. "It's gone."  
"Steve..." Danny whispered before returning to the comforting darkness.

************************************************** ***linebreak************************************** **

Steve sat by Danny's hospital bed and waited for his partner to wake up. He'd been in the hospital for almost an entire day now and he'd only been awake once. It had scared the hell out of Steve when Danny's heart monitor started beeping and he started to thrash around. Steve's mind had immediately gone to the worst case scenario. He was afraid that Danny was going into convulsions again, but it turned out to be more of a panic attack.

He should've known that the oxygen mask would make his partner feel trapped. He knew the symptoms of PTSD, after all he'd seen it before. Claustrophobia was just something they would have to learn to deal with now, but Steve would do anything for his friend and he would get Danny through this. He had to, for himself and for Grace.

He looked up as Danny's new doctor walked into the room. Steve had immediately asked to get rid of the old one when he tried to force Danny to keep the oxygen mask on, even though it had sent him into a fit of panic. Steve refused to let that man near his partner again. Now, he smiled when he recognized the new doctor as the same one who had treated Danny two years ago, after Harris' first attack.

"Commander McGarrett," Dr. Kamahi said as he approached the bed. "I should have know the second I heard about all the fuss that it would be you at the center of it."  
Steve smiled. "Sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "But I really didn't like that guy."  
He smiled and waved a hand in the air. "Trust me you're not the first to have a problem with him," he replied. "Besides, it is nice to see you and Detective Williams again. I wish it were under better circumstances, but if I remember correctly you two provided me and my staff with some great entertainment the last time."  
"Yeah, well we always try to keep things interesting," Steve replied. "Wouldn't want you to get sick of us. One of us always ends up here sooner or later. How is he Doc?"

"With a lot of rest, I expect him to make a full recovery," Dr. Kamahi replied. "The minor concussion and four broken knuckles will heal in time. The oxygen we had him on before his episode was enough to bring his O2 levels to within normal range and we still have him on fluids to treat the dehydration. The ant bites are the worst of it, I'm afraid, but we've put salve on them and wrapped them to keep him comfortable and relatively pain free. Like I said, with time he'll be just fine."  
"Then why isn't he waking up?" Steve asked in concern, shaking his head and frowning as the Doctor listed Danny's many injuries.

"Maybe because he's tired Steven," a rough voice replied from the bed.  
"Danny!" Steve said immediately, jumping up and getting right in his partners face. "You with us now buddy?"  
"Did I go somewhere?" Danny asked in confusion.  
"Well the first time you woke up you sorta freaked," Steve replied. "Scared the hell out of me."

Danny frowned as he remembered the reason for his earlier episode. "I don't want an oxygen mask," he told the doctor.  
Dr. Kamahi nodded. "It's fine Danny," he replied. "You're breathing well on your own now and you don't need one. Now, can you tell me where you are and if you're in any pain?"  
"Sure," Danny replied. "The pains not so bad, and pineapple infested hell hole."  
Steve snorted. "Oh yeah, he's fine Doc."  
Danny shot him an annoyed glare.

The Doctor smiled. "And so it's begun. I'm going to leave to two alone for a while," he said. "I expect the rest of your party will be arriving shortly. Press that call button if there are any problems or if you're in pain."  
"Thanks Doc," Danny replied.

Steve watched the doctor leave the room before turning back to Danny. The tension shift in the room could be felt immediately. He was looking down and picking at the bed sheets nervously. Steve chose not to say anything, instead waiting until his partner was ready to talk.  
"It was Harris, Steve..." Danny said after a few tense moments of silence. "He put me in there."  
"I know," Steve replied. "And he's dead Danny. He can never hurt you again."

Danny gave a dry and humorless laugh. "Yeah, because he hasn't done enough already," he said sarcastically. "Did you shoot him?"  
"No, he blew up," Steve replied.  
"He what?!" Danny asked in confusion. "I appreciate the save babe but all you really needed was a bullet, not a bomb."  
"This time it really wasn't my fault! He told us that if we paid him five million dollars, he'd give you back to us," Steve relayed.

Danny snorted. "Where the hell would you get five million dollars?" He asked. "I know the governor wouldn't give it to you, he doesn't negotiate with terrorists. You didn't steal it did you?!"  
"Okay, first, we only did that once although we probably would again if we needed to, but that's besides the point." Steve replied. "And second, Rachel gave it to us."  
Danny sat up and surprise filled his face immediately. "Rachel? She what? Why?"  
"She insisted," he said. "She said that you were the father of her child and she'd always care about you. So of course she offered to pay to get you back. Apparently she needs you just as much as we do buddy."  
Danny shook his head. "I have no idea how I'm going to make it up to her."  
"I don't think she expects, or wants you to Danny," Steve said. "I'm pretty sure she's just grateful that we got you back alive."  
"Is that how you found me?" Danny asked. "You paid the ransom? I still don't get how this led to him being blown up. Did you use one of your handy dandy grenades?"

"Contrary to what you may believe, I do not always blow up our suspects!" Steve replied. "When I went to him with the money, he blew it and himself up with a bomb that was strapped around his waist."  
"I don't understand..." Danny said, "Why would he do that?"  
"It was never about the money Danny," Steve told him. "He wanted you to suffer, and he wanted us suffer as well, knowing that you were dying and that there was nothing we could do to save you."  
Danny shook his head. "What a sick son of a bitch," he said. "But wait, then how did you find me?"

Steve hesitated, afraid of how Danny would react to knowing that they had all seen him so vulnerable in that coffin. Danny was already weak and tired, and Steve didn't want to agitate him further.

"We don't need to discuss all this right now Danno," he said. "You should rest. You need to heal."  
"No, you're hiding something," Danny replied. "What is it? What happened?"  
"Danny..." Steve said.  
"Tell me what's going on Steven," Danny demanded.

Steve should've guessed his partner would be too stubborn to back down.  
"There's something else I need to tell you Danno..." Steve said hesitantly.

Danny looked and Steve and waved a hand when he didn't say anything else. "What are you waiting for Steve, a formal invitation? What is it?"  
"Harris put a camera in the coffin," Steve said carefully. "He wanted us to suffer along with you, but it ended up helping lead us to you in the end."

Danny could barely hide his shock. Something flashed across his face quickly, but it looked a lot like shame to Steve.

"So you saw everything?" Danny asked, staring at the floor now.  
"I'm so sorry you had to go through all that Danny," Steve said. "I really am."  
"I'm sorry too," Danny replied.  
"What the hell are you sorry for?!" Steve asked in confusion.  
"If you saw everything, then you know..." Danny replied quietly. "You know that I was weak, and that I almost gave up."

"Look at me Danny," Steve said angrily.  
Danny hesitated before glancing up at Steve.  
"You were trapped down there for nearly three days and you still managed to survive," Steve told him. "Most people wouldn't have made it that long. You are the strongest person I know Danny, and you have nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. Do you understand me?"  
"I was gonna do it Steve," Danny practically whispered. "I was going to shoot myself and end it. I didn't want to, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I would've if you hadn't found me when you did."  
Steve shook his head. "For what it's worth, I don't believe for one second that you would've pulled that trigger Danno."

Danny stared at his partner, and Steve returned his gaze, trying to convey to his friend that he meant it.  
"You're stronger than you think Danny Williams," Steve said. "Don't go underestimating my partner."  
Danny smiled. "Thanks Steve," he said seriously. "And thanks for the save."

"Always!" Steve replied. "I worked too hard on you. There's no way I've got the time or patience to train a new partner."  
"Not a dog Steve," he replied, annoyed. "And I do believe that it was I who trained you. If it weren't for me, you'd still be running around blowing up everything that got in your way, and shooting people in the face at the same time."  
"You know what?" Steve said. "You're absolutely right Danny. Which is exactly why I need you stick around. So you're not allowed to die on me ever, okay?"  
"Bossy Steven. You can't get rid of me that easily," Danny replied. "But I will remind you of that the next time you drag me into a gunfight or grenade brawl without backup."  
"Yeah, I'm sure you will," Steve replied with a smile.

Danny tried to hold it in, but it was no use and he let out a huge yawn.  
"I told you, you need to rest Daniel!" Steve said.  
"I'm fine," Danny replied.  
"Don't be so stubborn Danny," he said. "Rachel and Grace should be here soon. Chin and Kono too, why don't you sleep until they get here?"  
"Maybe I could just rest my eyes for a minute," Danny said, even as his eyes were drooping.  
"Rest Danny. I'll be here when you wake up," Steve replied, but Danny was already asleep.

He knew that he would have to talk to Danny about what had happened eventually, and that he would have to help his partner overcome this, because it wouldn't be easy. But for now, he was content to just sit here and enjoy the fact that Danny had made it, and that he was still alive.

************************************************** **linebreak************************

You didn't think I was done with Danny, did you?

Like many of you said in comments, the CSI episode kind of ended abruptly. I decided to do a hospital scene because I love hospital scenes. Like the one in the episode where Danny got poisoned with sarin is one of my face bromance scenes of all time.

There's not much left, maybe one or two more chapters but I hope you like what I do in them.

Drop me a review and let me know what you think:) I always worry about how you guys will like my deep convos between the characters.  
Thanks for reading!

P.S.- one more day till season 4 premiere! AHHHHHH!


	13. Chapter 13

BB chapter 13

First, OH MY GOD! Was the season premiere not AMAZING? I loved it! Crazy action throughout and still enough Danny and Steve moments to make me smile! Can't believe that ending too! Is it Friday yet?

So Sorry I didn't have chance to update this weekend! I was crazy busy and my parents decided to take a trip to New Jersey.  
But here's the next chapter!

Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing :) I appreciate you all!

Enjoy!

******************************************linebrea k************************************************* **

The next time Danny woke up, he felt something soft and warm curled up next to him. He smiled as the scent of strawberry shampoo filled his nose- which was not covered by a mask he immediately noticed- and soft whispers brought him back to the land of the living.

"Monkey," he mumbled tiredly, pulling his daughter a little closer.  
"Danno!" She shouted, wrapping her arms around him a hugging him tightly. "You're finally awake!"

Danny blinked his eyes open and looked at his daughter. "Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes baby," he said, tapping her on the nose.  
"I missed you daddy!" Grace exclaimed.  
"I missed you too Monkey," Danny replied. "Very much. I thought about you the whole time, you know. Danno loves you so much babe."  
"I love you too Danno," she whispered, putting her head in his shoulder and snuggling as close to him as she could. "I was so worried. Nobody knew where you were and even Uncle Steve couldn't find you!"

Hearing the soft sobs that followed broke his heart. He only ever wanted his daughter to be happy, and yet he was the person that was causing her pain.

"Hey hey," Danny said, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. It's okay now."

Danny looked up and saw Rachel staring at them both in concern.  
"Hey Rach," he said, smiling at her from the bed.  
"Hello Daniel," she replied. "How are you feeling?"  
"Better now that you guys are here," he said. "Where's everyone else?"  
"They just went for coffee," she told him. "You know Steve never goes far when you're in the hospital, they'll be back up shortly."

Danny nodded and continued rubbing Grace's back, trying to calm down her soft crying.  
"I should leave you two alone," Rachel said, walking towards the door.  
"Hey Rach," Danny called after her.  
She turned around and looked at him.  
"Steve told me what you did..." Danny began, raising his hand when Rachel was about to interrupt. "And I just want to say that I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you, but it means so much to me that you would do that for me Rach. More than you know. Thank you Rachel, really."  
Rachel smiled. "Of course Danny," she said. "And you don't have to make it up to me, it was to save your life. It was my choice, and regardless of what happened, I would do it again. I'm just so glad that you're alright. I don't know what I would've done if..."

She cut off abruptly and reached up to swipe at a tear that started falling down her cheek.  
"Hey, you don't have to think about that alright?" Danny replied, beckoning her over with his hand. "C'mere we've got room for you too."

Rachel gave a tear choked laugh and walked up to Danny. She leaned down towards him and Grace and he immediately pulled her in to join their hug.  
"It's alright now," he assured her. "It's all over."  
Rachel hugged him back before pulling away and swiping at her cheeks again.  
"I know..." She replied, clearing her throat. "I'm glad that he can't hurt you again."

Danny smiled at her and she smiled back warmly before turning and heading towards the door.  
"I'm going to fetch some coffee," she said. "Call me if you two need anything."  
"Thanks Rach," Danny called after her.

He turned back to his daughter then, who was finally calming down in his arms.  
"Come on, look at me Monkey I'm alright," he told her.  
"Sometimes..." She whispered. "Sometimes I wish you weren't a cop Danno."

Danny knew that this day would come eventually, and it was just as bad as he always imagined it would be. No amount of practiced speeches in the bathroom mirror could prepare Danny enough to know how to respond to his baby girl right now. There was no easy answer, but he took a deep breath and gave it his best shot.

"But monkey, if I wasn't a cop, who would keep this island safe for you?" He began. "Everything I do, I do for you Gracie, you know that. I'm a cop because I need to know that you're safe, and that you're not walking down the same streets as someone bad or dangerous. Your safety is the most important thing in the world to me Monkey, and that's why even though my job is dangerous, I do it anyway. I will always do whatever I have to do to protect you and to keep you safe. I love you too much not to."  
"I know that Danno... But what if something happens to you?" Grace asked with tears still in her eyes. "I'd miss you too much if you were gone Danno."

Danny kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly before looking at her.  
"No matter what happens to me Monkey, I will always be with you in here," he said, pointing to her heart. "I'll always be watching over you, and I will always love you. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can change that, okay?"  
Grace nodded hesitantly.  
"But if it makes you feel better Monkey, I do promise to be more careful, and I will always try my best, my very best, to come home you." Danny said.

Grace hugged him again. "I love you so much Danno, and I'm glad you're okay."  
"I love you more than anything in the world Monkey, and I always will," Danny replied. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me and I don't want you to ever forget it."

Grace finally smiled. "I won't forget Danno, you remind me every day!"  
Danny laughed. "Yeah I guess I do, don't I?"

Steve stayed where he was out in the hallway, being as quiet as possible. He knew Danny would give him hell for eavesdropping, but he couldn't resist listening to this beautiful moment between Danny and his daughter.

He had come back up here to give his partner some much needed coffee, but he knew better than to interrupt serious father-daughter time. And as he listened to Danny promise to always try to come back home to Grace, he made his own promise. Danny would always try his hardest to get home, but Steve would make damn sure he always made it there in one piece.

***********************************************lin ebreak******************************************** **

Steve was in for it now... He knew he was in trouble.

He looked down at Danny where he sat in the wheelchair, dressed in his usual clothes and more than ready to go home. Only he wasn't going home, not yet anyway. Steve was of course going to insist that Danny stay at his house for a few days, at least until he got his strength back, and he of course, waited until the last second to tell his partner that little detail.

Danny had been here for three days and between visits with the Doctor, Rachel, Grace, Chin, Kono, Catherine and Kamekona, plus the phone calls with his parents, sisters and Matt, Steve hadn't found the right time to tell Danny about his post-hospital living quarters.

Danny looked at him expectantly before letting out a laugh.  
"Don't look so guilty Steven," he said. "I already know that you're going to force me to stay at your house for a while."  
"What? No complaints?" Steve asked in confusion.  
"What good have they ever done me so far?" He replied.  
"You know Detective, that just may be the best question you've ever asked," Steve said with a smirk.  
Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well hurry up and go get my discharge papers before I change my mind."  
"Right away Sir," Steve replied sarcastically, giving Danny a mock salute before walking towards the door.

"No need for that," Dr. Kamahi said, strolling into the room. "I have those right here for you to sign."  
He handed the papers to Danny before turning to look at Steve. "So I assume you told him Commander?" He asked, clearly amused.  
"Yeah I did Doc and he didn't even complain!" Steve replied. "Maybe we should have him admitted again to look for further head injuries."  
Dr. Kamahi laughed. "Yes that may be for the best!" He replied.

"Oh you're both hilarious," Danny said, handing back the papers. "Let's go Steve, I'm hungry. I want real food and I want beer."  
"Only one!" The doctor reminded him sternly.  
"Don't worry he's only getting one Doc," Steve assured him, grabbing the handles of the wheelchair. "And that's only if he's good."

Danny snorted. "Thanks again for everything Doc, it's been fun."  
Dr. Kamahi smiled. "I don't want to see either of you back here for a long time!" He said as they went towards the elevators.  
"I can't guarantee that!" Steve called back.  
"Of course you can't Mr. Armed Conflict," Danny said.  
"That's Commander Armed Conflict to you," Steve replied.  
Danny snorted. "Oh, I apologize," he said sarcastically. "I almost forgot we were in combat. Doesn't this tank go any faster?"

Dr. Kamahi laughed and shook his head, watching his favorite two patients leave yet again.  
"If this is how they act running on fumes and bad hospital coffee, I have got to see them at their prime," he said to himself.

"I hate wheelchairs," Danny muttered as they waited for the elevator. "They make me feel like an invalid."  
"It's only until we get downstairs Danno," Steve reminded him.  
"I know..." Danny replied. "Still..."  
The doors opened and Steve wheeled him into the elevator.

The second the doors closed, Danny felt it... The feeling of being trapped, not being able to get out, not even being able to breathe.

Just like that, panic gripped him. His heart stated beating faster immediately and his palms started to sweat. He wiped them quickly on his pants.  
'Five floors Danny,' he told himself, trying and failing to calm down. 'Just five floors.'

Every second that passed felt like an hour, and Danny started taking in bigger gulps of air, like he couldn't get enough into his lungs.

"Danny?" Steve asked in concern, immediately picking up on his friends harsh breathing and kneeling down in front of him. "Danny what's wrong? Are you having trouble breathing?"  
Steve could feel himself start to panic as Danny started gasping for air. What the hell just happened?

"Out," Danny gasped. "Out. I want to get out."  
They finally reached the bottom floor and Steve jumped up and started pushing the open button frantically until the doors finally began to open slowly. Did elevator doors always move this damn slow?

Steve grabbed the handles and immediately wheeled Danny out of the elevator and straight out the hospital doors into the fresh air. How could he have been so stupid?

A small, closed box was the last place Danny needed to be right now. And Steve should've known that. He had already seen the signs of claustrophobia when Danny panicked from the oxygen mask over his face.

"That's it Danny," Steve said soothingly, kneeling in front of his partner again and rubbing his leg softly. "Breathe, deep breaths. In and out. Just like that."  
He watched intently as Danny slowly calmed down and his breathing finally started to even out.

"I'm sorry," Danny said when he finally found his voice again. "I don't know what happened."  
"Maybe we should have a doctor check you out...?" Steve asked in concern.  
"No!" Danny said immediately. "I just want to leave. Please, I don't want to be here."

Steve nodded, still not sure, but not wanting to agitate Danny anymore than he already was. "Okay buddy," he said. "Okay we'll go."  
"What is wrong with me?" Danny whispered, more to himself than to his partner.  
"You're going to get through this Danny," Steve promised.  
"What if I don't, huh?" Danny demanded, getting out of the wheelchair angrily. "What if I can't? What if I am never the same person I used to be again Steve? What about that?!"

Steve watched in concern as Danny walked over to the Camaro and got in, slamming the door behind him.

*************************************************l inebreak****************************************** ***

I originally intended to only have one more chapter after the last one but I was in the elevator in school today and it actually got stuck for like three minutes and while everyone else was panicking, I was of course thinking wow I can totally fit an elevator into my story! So yeah I added this little scene in but I'm pretty sure that the next will be the last now. Unless inspiration strikes again of course...

Hope you enjoyed :) more to come!

Let me know what you think!  
Thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

This is it! The final chapter :(  
Sorry it took so long, I always try to make the ending perfect. This is as good as it's gonna get. Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for all the reviews! And Thanks to everyone for sticking with me this long! You're the best!

Enjoy:)

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Danny opened his eyes and immediately cried out in alarm. He was back in the coffin, looking up at the glass and the mounds of dirt just above it.

"No!" He shouted, slamming his fist against it. "Get me out of here!"  
He couldn't be here... He was out! His team had found him! So why was he back in the box?

"Danny!" He heard, just before he felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him. "Danny open your eyes man! Wake up!"

Danny gasped and his eyes flew open. He immediately saw Steve, leaning over him with concern written clear on his face. A nightmare. Just like the past two nights.

"It was just a bad dream man," Steve said soothingly. "We found you, and you're alright now."  
Danny took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He could feel the cold sweat on his back and running down his face.

"I'm sorry," he said finally, embarrassed to have woken Steve for the third night in a row.  
"Don't be sorry Danny," Steve said seriously. "I'm your friend and I'm here for you."  
"I keep waking you up," Danny muttered. "You need your beauty sleep. You're looking a little rough around the edges there Superman."

Steve snorted. "Have you looked in the mirror lately? You don't look so hot yourself Danno."  
"When are the nightmares gonna stop?" Danny asked quietly.  
Steve sighed. "I don't know buddy," he replied. "But if you want to talk about them you know I'm here right?"

Danny nodded. "Do you know what got me through it?" He asked suddenly, after a few moments of silence.  
Steve sat up straighter immediately. For days he'd been trying to coax Danny to talk to him and tell him something, anything about what he'd gone through down there. Danny hadn't been open to sharing anything, until now. Steve didn't say a word, instead he waited for Danny to be ready to finally let it out.

"I had a lot of time to think down there..." Danny finally began. "And I knew that you're supposed to go a happy place or some crap like that, to try and forget what was actually going on. I didn't forget... Not for a second. But I found a way to make it easier. I just kind of let my mind wander you know? I was thinking about things I hadn't thought of in years..."

He stopped suddenly.  
"Like what?" Steve coaxed.  
"Like the look on my mom and pop's faces when I graduated from the New Jersey Police Academy, you could just tell how proud they were..." Danny continued. "And watching the Jets with my dad and Mattie in our underwear, the time me, Brenda, Sandra and Matt tried to make my mom breakfast on Mother's Day and nearly burned down the house. I thought about birthday's, Christmases, graduations, my moms lasagna... A lot of things from my life back in jersey."

Danny stopped talking again, but Steve knew by the look on his face that he had more to say.  
"Go on," Steve said.  
Danny shook his head. "You should go back to sleep... I'm sorry I woke you..."  
"No, Danny," Steve replied, putting a hand on his friends shoulder. "I want to hear more. Go on."

Danny looked at him for a few seconds before finally nodding.  
"I also thought a lot about Rachel. The good days of course, like the look on her face when I pulled her over for rear ending me. She played me and man did I fall for it. She started crying and before I knew it I was offering her driving lessons instead of a ticket... Can you believe that? I was such a sap... I thought about the look in her eyes when we got married, she looked so happy. I thought the most about Grace. Like the day Rachel told me she was pregnant, man was I terrified. I didn't know if I'd be able to take care of this little person, and to be responsible for a tiny human. But from the day she was born I knew she was perfect. When I saw her for the first time... I never felt anything like that in my entire life. I loved her so much from that very first second and I swore to myself that I would always be there to love her and to take care of her like my parents always had."

"You did a great job Danny, you're an amazing father," Steve couldn't help but put in.  
"Thanks bud, at least I did something right..." Danny replied. "And don't think I forgot about you guys."  
Steve blew out a breath of mock relief. "You had me worried there partner." He said sarcastically.

Danny smiled. "I thought about the first time we met. I was so sure that you'd get sick of me and send me back to HPD within a week. And when you didn't, I almost ran back there myself," he said with smirk. "But after a while... I don't know I just started to feel like I belonged again. Like if I just up and vanished one day, someone would notice. It felt good having friends again. I thought about you guys a lot when I was down there... Like Kono teaching me how to surf on the sand, Chin's wedding, and the time Kono put salt in your birthday cake. Especially the time Kono beat you at arm wrestling."

"Hey!" Steve had to cut in. "That was right after I broke my arm-"  
Danny laughed. "Stand down soldier," he said. "Or should I say stand down to your ego?"  
Steve rolled his eyes. "My ego is not that big."  
"Not that... Seriously, I'm surprised there's enough room in this house for me with that ego of yours," Danny replied.  
"That's funny," Steve muttered.  
"Are you done interrupting or what?" Danny asked with another laugh.  
"Sorry, please continue," Steve said.

"Thank you!" Danny replied "I thought about Christmas dinner at your house too. When you're mom made that terrible roast and you made me eat the entire thing so her feelings wouldn't get hurt. And one of my favorites memories of all time, when we all had thanksgiving together with Gracie, and she told me that dinner with you, Chin, Kono, Cath and Kamekona was a million times more fun than the dinner she had with Rachel and Stan."

Danny stopped talking suddenly and started picking at the blanket nervously.  
"You guys were such a big part of how I got through it, and I don't know if I thanked you for that. So thank you." He said.  
Steve squeezed his shoulder again. "Any time buddy," he said. "I know I speak for all of us when I say that we're so grateful you were strong enough to pull through. I don't know what we'd do without you. It would be way too quiet without you and that temper of yours. If there's one thing bigger than my ego, it's your temper Danno."

"Yeah well... The famous New Jersey attitude at its finest," Danny replied, before clearing his throat awkwardly. "You should really get some sleep Steve. You have to be at work in a few hours and you need it. I'm sorry I keep waking you up."  
"It's no problem Danny, I'm always here to listen," he replied. "But you should get some sleep too. You need it more than I do."  
Danny nodded. "I'll try."

Steve gripped Danny's shoulder one more time before getting up and heading out of the room. He was already planning something that would hopefully make Danny feel better.

************************************************** *****linebreak***********************************

Danny sat on Steve's couch and waited impatiently for his partner to return. He bounced his leg anxiously and looked at the clock every few minutes. He hated this part. He hated being alone. As hard as he tried not to, his mind always went back to the box when he had nothing else to keep himself occupied. He'd be alone then too...

"Don't think about it Danny," he practically growled at himself.

He picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. He groaned in annoyance as he read the shows Steve had recorded.  
"Who the hell would've thought..." He muttered. "Apparently, SEAL's love their soap operas."

Danny was sure Steve had more soap operas recorded than a teenage girl.  
He sat back and hit the play button anyway. He needed to keep his mind in the present, and out of the box.

He wished he could just forget everything. The hours he'd spent in there, not knowing if he would ever make it out alive, the stifling heat, the ants... But he couldn't forget. He would never forget. So he had to settle for keeping himself as busy as possible. He was out now and he wasn't going back, he had to remember that.

Danny looked back at the clock and started bouncing his leg again, wondering if this was ever going to get any easier, or if he was doomed to spend the rest of his life fighting just to stay sane.

************************************************** ***Linebreak************************************** *

"Danny!" Steve called as he entered his house later that day.  
"Thank god you're back," Danny said, coming down the stairs immediately. "I was just about to die of boredom. Your TV channels are terrible and you watch more soap operas than my sister. And I'm starving! What'd you bring?"  
"He brought us brah," Kono answered, stepping into the house with Chin and Catherine in tow.  
"Kamekona's on his way too, he's brining dinner," Steve added.

Danny smiled and gave Chin, Kono, and Cath quick hugs before turning to Steve. "What is this?" He asked.  
"This is an Ohana dinner," Chin replied for him. "A celebration of sorts."  
"What are we celebrating?" Danny asked.  
"Your life!" Kono said, as if it should've been obvious.  
"In that case, where's the beer?" Danny asked.  
"There's still some left over in the fridge but you're still only allowed to have one Danno," Steve reminded him.  
"Yes mom," Danny replied walking towards the kitchen.

"It's good to see you looking better," Catherine said, following him out. "I hope Steve's been taking good care of you."  
"Thanks," Danny replied. "And you'd be surprised! Who knew Rambo could be such a mother hen?"  
"I am not a mother hen," Steve argued.  
"Of course not!" Danny said, winking at Catherine.

"Kamekona's here!" Kono called. "About time I'm starving!"  
"Come on outside," Steve said over his shoulder, already on his way out the door.

Danny followed his friends out to the lanai.  
"Good to see you Haole!" Kamekona said, slapping Danny on the back.  
"It's good to see you too," Danny replied. "And you brought food!"  
"Best on the island brah, you know that," he replied.

They all sat down to eat and immediately fell into familiar comfortable chatter.  
"We can't wait for you to come back to work Danny!" Kono said. "It is way too quiet in the office!"  
"Oh yeah," Chin agreed. "And we can't wait for you to go back to babysitting the Boss here. You're the only one Steve listens to! He misses having you around, he has no one to argue with. You should see him storming around the office looking for something to do."  
"This morning, I actually caught him doing his own paperwork!" Kono added.  
"No!" Danny replied dramatically.  
"I always do my paperwork!" Steve said adamantly.  
Danny snorted and rolled his eyes. "If I didn't take it from you, you'd probably blow it up Steven. Why do I put up with you?"  
"Because you'd be lost without me?" Steve offered.  
Kono nearly choked on her beer at that one.  
"Yeah," Danny replied, rolling his eyes at Steve. "Apparently my type is tall, dark and mentally unstable."

Catherine laughed. "Well there wasn't much paperwork to fill out in the NAVY," she said.  
"Exactly!" Steve said. "Can't I just do my job and be done with it? Why is there a need for paperwork in the first place?"  
"Because when you shoot someone in the face for daring to stop at yellow light, there's a need to explain yourself Steven," Danny replied.  
Everyone started laughing.  
"Glad you can all share a laugh at my expense," Steve said.  
Danny smirked at his partner before looking back down at his food.

He froze immediately.  
There was a fly on his arm, crawling slowly up and down it. He stared at the fly, trying to stay calm but his mind automatically went back to the last time there had been bugs crawling on his arm like that...  
Danny jumped out of his seat, knocking the chair down behind him in the process and shook the fly off of his arm, breathing heavily all of the sudden.

Everyone quickly looked up at him alarm, Steve was already on his feet.  
"Danny?" He asked.  
"Are you alright?" Chin asked in concern.  
"Uh.. Yeah," Danny replied, trying and failing to let out a laugh. "I'm fine. I just need a minute, I'll be right back."

Danny turned around and immediately took off towards the ocean, leaving his friends staring after him in concern.

"Is he going to be okay?" Kono asked.  
"Eventually," Chin replied. "It may take some time but we'll be there for him when he's ready."  
"Steve?" Catherine asked. He was still standing, watching Danny who was now sitting down by the water.

"I'll be right back," Steve replied, walking into the house. He grabbed what he needed from the desk drawer before heading back out. "I'm going to go check on him."  
He walked off the lanai and headed towards where Danny sat in the sand, staring out at the ocean.

"I don't want to talk about it Steve," Danny said without even looking up at him as he approached.  
Steve sat down in the sand next to his partner and handed him the tape recorder they had recovered from the coffin.

"Fine, no talking but let me ask you this Danny," he began. "Are you going to hold onto this, forever fixated on every last detail of what was or what could have been? Are you going to spend the rest of your life still trapped in that box? Or are you going to take this and shove it as far away from you as you can, so that you can start to move past it, and move on with your life?"

Danny took the tape recorder from his partner and stood up. He stared at it intently for a while, before throwing it as hard as he could right into the ocean.  
Steve smiled and stood up beside Danny, putting a hand on his shoulder. "That's what I thought."

Danny turned to finally look at Steve. "Thanks man," he said. "For having my back, for putting up with my mood swings these past few days, for everything. I know I haven't been so much fun to be around lately."  
"No, you haven't," Steve replied with a smirk. "But I have always got your back man. Don't forget that."  
Danny nodded. "I won't."  
"And just for the record," Steve couldn't help but add, "I've been putting up with your mood swings for four years Danno, not just the past few days."

Danny snorted. "You're a funny guy," he replied. "I'd give it a medium."  
"Thanks buddy, I try," Steve said, turning and heading back towards the lanai. "Come on, let's get back before Kono comes after us. You have them all worried."

Danny stared back at the ocean for a few seconds and took a deep breath. He didn't know exactly when he had become so comfortable here, in Hawaii. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment he started to see this place as his home, but he knew it had a lot to do with a certain knife wielding, grenade obsessed Navy SEAL and of course his favorite pair of tech savvy cousins. Not to mention the rest of his extended Ohana.

He never actually realized how lucky he was that he had found another family here for himself and his daughter, but he sure as hell appreciated them and everything they had done for him, even if he never said it out loud. Danny smiled to himself before turning around and going after his partner.

"Sorry about that," Danny said, picking up his chair and sitting back down.  
Kono put her hand on his arm. "Don't be Danny," she said. "We're here for you, alright?"  
Danny smiled as he looked around the table and saw everyone nodding their heads in agreement.  
"I know," he replied.  
Kono smiled back at him and squeezed his arm lightly before letting go.

"So we were just talking about Steve's unfortunate taste in television..." Catherine said with a mocking smirk.  
"Just television?" Danny added. "Don't forget music."  
"And reading material..." Chin said.  
"That's right, I almost forgot about his subscription to Guns N' Ammo!" Kono replied.  
"He thinks he's Chuck Norris," Danny said. "Unless of course he's watching Days of our Lives or The Young and the Restless..."  
"Really?" Steve said, thoroughly annoyed. "Everybody? What's wrong with soap operas, huh? They've got action..."  
"My mom watches the same soap operas as you Steve," Kono replied. "Everybody gets 'action' but I don't think it's the action you're referring to."  
"Who knew McGarrett was such a softie for daytime television..." Kamekona said.  
"Hey! Listen..." Steve began. "Soap operas can be manly alright?"  
"Oh yeah!" Catherine said over everyone's laughter. "Definitely manly, maybe they should play some for the SEAL's on movie night!"

Danny closed his eyes and just listened to the voices of his closest friends all around him. He finally realized how many people he had in his corner, all more than willing to help get him through this. Danny felt much better knowing that he didn't have to do it alone, and he really started to believe for the first time that he would be okay. That he could and would come back from this. His Ohana would see to that.

END

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Woooh! Finished another story! I didn't want to drag on the recovery process but I tried to end it on a happy healing note none the less! Hope you guys liked it :)

I know there's some serious bromancey fluff in here but I usually end my stories like that, not sure why it just sorta comes out that way.

I hope you guys enjoyed the story! Thank you so much to everyone who followed, favorited, reviewed or just read for fun! Thanks for sticking with me you're all awesome! :D

There's a lot of CSI episodes out there, who knows which one I'll borrow next ;)

What'd you guys think of the ending? Please let me know :)  
Laters!


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